Sign language is designed as a complete communication form for people with hearing or speaking impairments that prevent verbal exchanges. There are more than 60 different forms of sign language officially recognized and used around the world. However, there could be up to 300 unofficial forms of sign language, as each country may have more than one form and even regional versions.
In the United States, American Sign Language (ASL) is the most commonly used form of sign language. Importantly, ASL is not just English turned into gestures. Sign languages like ASL use body position and facial expression to convey complex ideas that would otherwise be communicated using intonation. Moreover, ASL has its own grammar and form of pronunciation that has allowed dialects and accents to emerge, just as with spoken English.
The Major Sign Languages of the English-Speaking World
Other countries that primarily speak English have developed their own forms of sign language. For example, British Sign Language (BSL) is the preferred sign language in the United Kingdom. Australian and New Zealand Sign Languages are derivatives of BSL, each with unique differences. For example, many Māori words have been incorporated into New Zealand Sign Language. Australian Sign Language, called Auslan, has borrowed some aspects of Irish Sign Language along with several Indigenous sign languages.
Not all sign language users communicate via BSL in the United Kingdom. Some people use Sign Supported English, which has some elements borrowed from BSL but follows spoken English much more closely in terms of grammar and word order. In some ways, this makes it easier for people who speak English to learn Sign Supported English, but the fact that it is not as popular as BSL shows how much sign languages exist within their own distinct cultures.
The Dissociation between Spoken and Signed Languages
Another prominent sign language is French Sign Language (LSF), which is primarily used in France and Switzerland. LSF was one of the very first sign languages to be codified and recognized as a formal communication system. In fact, ASL is based on LSF, although it adopted several modifications reflective of sign culture in North America.
In 1755, Charles Michel de l’Epee opened a free school in Paris for the deaf community. LSF was born out of this institution based on the sign language already in use in the city. Today, LSF has dialects, such as Marseille Sign Language, which is also known as Southern French Language. These dialects represent the differences in signing within communities while pointing to the strong links between language, identity, and belonging.
As we see with English, sign languages do not always synchronize with spoken languages. Although there are many francophone nations across the globe, most of them do not use LSF. This derives from the unique cultures in these countries born out of the multilingual milieu that exists there. In Canada, for example, English-speaking regions use ASL, but French-speaking areas use Quebecois Sign Language. Meanwhile, Maritime Sign Language is used in some areas of the country.
Another example is Belgium, which uses both French Belgian Sign Language and Flemish Belgian Sign Language, neither of which is particularly close to LSF. While the people who use these different sign languages all likely read French and use that as a point of comparison grammatically, the adoption of different systems shows how culture influences language just as much as language influences culture.
The Emergence of Official Sign Languages throughout Asia
The picture is a bit more complicated in Asia, where most sign languages have not been officially recognized until fairly recently. South Korea only recognized Korean Sign Language as an official language in 2015. In China, sign languages have been used for centuries yet there was no formal way of learning them until foreign missionaries recently opened the first schools for the deaf and hard-of-hearing community. Now, Chinese Sign Language (CSL) has two officially recognized dialects. Southern CSL is primarily used in Shanghai and surrounding areas, while Northern CSL covers Beijing and other parts of the north. Notably, the internet has played a significant role in helping to unify and standardize CSL. While there are two official dialects, it is not uncommon for signs to change even between neighboring cities. The internet has provided a forum for exploring dialects and promoting mutual comprehensibility.
What Sign Languages Teach Us about Culture and Communication
The sheer number of sign languages is a testament to how interconnected language and culture are. Even within one language, considerable dialectical differences between different areas can exist. While you may think it would be easier to have a single sign language that could be used universally, that would never work just as there is no universal spoken language. The attempts to create a more standard language have largely failed, such as Esperanto, and those that have succeeded, such as Hindi, have done so because they are deeply reflective of a shared past and culture. People who rely on sign language find just as much identity in their systems as individuals do with spoken language. While fewer people may use sign language, that does not make these systems and their differences any less worthy of celebration.