A sign language is actually a language and not a direct translation of the written or oral languages. Therefore, countries sharing the same spoken language do not necessarily share the same sign language.
English, for example, is a language used widely but different countries have different fingerspelling for the same English Alphabet we will see this further. Words used in the spoken language are important but the entire meaning of dialogue is interpreted based on the body language, pitch and intonation of the voice of the speaker in addition to those words. Similarly, sign language is never completely based on the fingerspelling alone.
Gesture, facial expression and body language play an important role in the interpretation of sign language. But, sign languages can be useful for others such as people with autism , cerebral palsy , Down syndrome etc. Moreover, sign language can prove to be useful for non-disabled people too in some circumstances.
One of the major components of Sign Language is Fingerspelling — the use of hands to represent individual letters of a written language. Fingerspelling is used to spell such things that do not have an established sign in the given sign language. Some sign languages use a single hand to spell each letter while there are languages that require both hands to spell the letters. One of the most popular sign languages around the world is American Sign Language.
Although it contains the same alphabets as English, it is not a subset of the English language. Sentence formation or the sequence of words in a sentence is different in ASL as compared to English because of its unique grammar rules.
ASL uses the one-hand fingerspelling method for the English Alphabet. People with disabilities including Autism, Apraxia of speech, Cerebral Palsy, and Down Syndrome may also find sign language beneficial for communicating. And as you will see in the different languages below, it has even had other uses throughout history. There is no single sign language used around the world. Like spoken language, sign languages developed naturally through different groups of people interacting with each other, so there are many varieties.
There are somewhere between and different types of sign language used around the globe today. Interestingly, most countries that share the same spoken language do not necessarily have the same sign language as each other. Most people start their sign language journey by learning the A-Z or alphabet equivalent in sign form. For example, most sign languages have a specific sign for the word tree, but may not have a specific sign for oak, so o-a-k would be finger spelled to convey that specific meaning.
Of course, not every language uses the Latin alphabet like English, so their sign language alphabet differs as well. Though there are similarities between some of the different manual alphabets, each sign language has its own style and modifications, and remains unique. American Sign Language was created independently and it has its own linguistic structure. It is, in fact, descended from Old French Sign Language.
Signs are also not expressed in the same order as words are in English. This is due to the unique grammar and visual nature of the sign language. Learn the ASL alphabet by demonstration in this video , or with the chart below!
Unlike ASL, these alphabets use two hands, instead of one. Probably the most-used sign language in the world but there is currently no data to confirm this , Chinese Sign Language uses the hands to make visual representations of written Chinese characters. So you have distinct differences in manual alphabets and hand signs for sign languages in Latin, Hebrew, Greek , Devanagari and so on. As you consider fingerspelling, remember that, in general:. American Manual Alphabet and the International Manual Alphabet use one-handed signals, while the manual alphabets in the Turkish Sign Language require use of both hands.
Using one hand or two hands, the fingerspeller may trace the alphabet letters in the air or make certain established hand signs to denote each individual letter. The person signing may or may not make mouth movements, voicing the word being spelled, to accompany the hand signals.
In some sign languages, like in the Italian Sign language, the finger spelling is slow and precise, while in others, such as British Sign Language, it can be rather rapid fire. Apart from its use by deaf communities, fingerspelling has also been used to create ciphers and signals. Beginners can find fingerspelling confusing and hard to understand, especially when reading what another person is fingerspelling.
Learning how to fingerspell fluently takes time and continual practice. The American Manual Alphabet contains 26 alphabet letters and 26 hand positions to denote each unique letter.
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