There are different languages around the world, developed by groups of people with their uniqueness.
That doesn’t only apply to spoken language, it’s also the same for sign language. The hand and gestures-based communication systems vary from country to country. Let’s learn more about why there are different sign languages in the world.
What is Sign Language?
Sign language is a manual-based language used by the deaf community. It consists of fingers and hand gestures to communicate, and the finger signals are called a sign. Sign language has the same linguistics as spoken language.
However, Sign Language is separate from the spoken language from vocabulary and what meanings they convey.
Is there a Universal Sign Language?
It may come as a surprise, but there’s no universal Sign Language because it’s specific and used by people in that region. Now, some signs are recognized globally, but for example, ASL is only used in the United States and Canada.
The Types of Sign Language
There are around 300 forms of sign language used throughout the world.
Another thing to consider is that Sign Language is not based on spoken language. It has similar mechanics to spoken language such as grammar. A deaf community develops sign language specifically for them.
American Sign Language
American Sign Language (ASL) dates back 200 years ago, with influences from French Sign Language. The ASL alphabet uses only one hand for the alphabet. It has all the mechanisms of a language and regional dialects for expressing things, or in this case, fingerspelling.
In the United States, there are three forms of sign language used, they are American Sign Language (ASL), Pidgin Signed English (PSE), and Signed Exact English (SEE). Pidgin is the most widely used, but SEE uses a visual representation of English to convey the meanings of words.
There are around 10,000 signs in American Sign Language (ASL), and 26 to master to reach fluency in sign language.
The non-verbal communication system is becoming one of the top languages to learn in the United States.
UK Sign Language
They use BSL (British Sign Language) in Britain and Irish Sign Language (ISL) in Ireland. There are 77,000 BSL (British Sign Language) speakers. You may think that the sign language in the UK is similar to ASL, but then the sign languages are different. According to Akorbi, only 30% of the signs are the same.
BSL uses a two-hand system for signs. The grammar is also different from spoken English, where you sign the main subject and then refer to something about that topic. For example, instead of asking, “What is your name?” someone would sign, “Name, what?”
Oceania
This country in Oceania also has a distinct form of sign language but has roots in BSL and ASL (Australian Sign Language) and is used by 23,000 people in New Zealand.
NZSL (New Zealand Sign Language) has experienced changes over time. NZSL between generations from older to younger isn’t quite the same. The sign language in New Zealand also has regional distinctions. For example, someone from the south signs differs from someone from the north.
Something interesting about NZSL is that it wasn’t accepted as a form of communication until the 1970s. An example of this non-standardization is that signers will use the word order in English or fingerspell English words mixing it in with the Sign Language.
Asia
Korean Sign Language was established as an official language in 2015. There is also Korean Standard Sign Language (KSDSL). The difference between the two is that the standard sign language is manual Korean, while the other isn’t.
China also recently recognized sign language because of foreign missionaries that developed it. China has two regional dialects, Beijing in the north and Shanghai in the south.
Japan has two official forms, JSL (Japanese Sign Language) and signed Japanese, but JSL is widely used. The Signed Japanese doesn’t have as many facial expressions, which are crucial to conveying certain things accurately. JSL differs from spoken Japanese with grammar, modifiers, word orders, etc.
Europe
The European Union has 44 countries with 31 forms of sign language.
French Sign Language was one of the first to be standardized and is the origin of most sign languages. It has regional dialects like the southern one in Marseille. In Belgium, there are two forms of sign language for the French Belgians and Flemish Belgians. That also applies to Spaniards who speak Catalan or Galician.
Universal Sign Language and the Barriers
It would be easier for the deaf and hard of hearing to have a universal sign language. But, it would be impossible to create a universal sign language because it isn’t dependent on spoken language. It was developed by making its own meanings.
The distinct signs, gestures, mouth words, and other factors create a divide between the languages. The main thing is that language and culture are so closely related. There can’t be a universal sign language because there weren’t many facilities or schools to teach it in the first place. Only in the past century is there more awareness for the deaf community. So now, they are creating a sign language based on specific dialects of that region.
For those who are looking for additional support, Unspoken Language Services offers interpreting services to help bridge the communication gap between the deaf and hearing communities.
