Sign
Language: Origin and Daily Use
Sign language is a system of signs used predominantly by
deaf people, but has become more popular in recent years among people capable
of speaking and hearing. There are about two hundred different types of sign
language in the world; American Sign Language (ASL) is one of the most popular,
used in over 50 countries around the world. Another among the most popular is
Chinese Sign Language (CSL). Sign language is different from spoken languages
because “unlike most languages, sign language is more often passed on from
child to child rather than from parent to child. This is because 90 percent of
deaf children are born to hearing parents who do not know sign language”
(Costello x). This following paper will explore the history of American Sign
Language, differences between sign languages, important rules and etiquette, as
well as how it is used today by various different people.
No one is quite sure exactly where or when sign language
started, but it is said that Aristotle was the first to record claims about the
deaf. The first claims were not positive ones; deaf people did not have rights.
Aristotle theorized that deaf people were incapable of being educated because
learning came from spoken language. For about two thousand years, scholars
tried to prove Aristotle wrong and educate deaf people; this is what created
the beginning of sign language. Educating deaf children began in the 16th
century by Geronimo Cardano, Pedro Ponce de Leon, and Juan Pablo de Bonet; an
Italian mathematician and physician, a Spanish monk and a Spanish priest
respectively. It wasn’t until 1771 that the first public deaf school was
established by Abbé Charles-Michel de l'Épée, a French Catholic priest who is
known today as “Father of the Deaf” because of all the work he has done with
the deaf. He founded a total of twenty-one schools for the deaf. There are a
few famous deaf-blind people in history; these include Laura Bridgman and Helen
Keller. Bridgeman was the first deaf-blind person to learn a language, but Keller,
who was born 50 years after Bridgeman, was the first deaf-blind person to
graduate from college. Sign language has evolved significantly, being created
by the very people who use it to this day. As Michelle Jay says in her article Who Invented Sign Language?, “Like any
deaf person would, the children who attended the schools for the deaf created a
language to communicate…Therefore, no one person invented sign language”. Though no one knows the precise moment
sign language was invented, the 16th to 18th centuries
were a time when sign language flourished.
Of all languages, spoken and not, “American Sign Language
is the fourth most spoken language in the United States” (Lewis). Recently, the
Modern Language Association reported that between 2006 and 2009, there had been
an increase of 16% of students enrolling in sign language classes in American
colleges. As Elaine Costello explains in her book Signing: How to Speak with Your Hands, “American Sign Language is
one of the most complete sign systems in the world. Most countries, however,
have their own sign languages which
have been refined and standardized” (xi). This means that, like spoken
languages, sign languages differ from country to country and may even have
different dialects when signing the same language. Though these sign languages
differ, it is much easier for deaf people signing different languages to
understand each other than people speaking different languages can. “A Deaf
person traveling abroad would not immediately be able to converse with a Deaf
person in another country without studying the sign language of that country as
a foreign language, although communication barriers between different sign
languages seem to be crossed more easily than those of spoken languages”
(Costello xi). More recently, due to a constant need to communicate, the World
Congress of the World Federation of the Deaf came up with an idea to merge
different sign languages to create an international sign language. Around 1973,
the Commission on Unification of Signs of the World Federation came up with the
sign language which they call “Gestuno”; it has about 1500 different signs
which were newly invented or chosen from other existing sign languages. Gestuno
is an Italian word which translates to “one sign language”. Gesto means gesture
and uno means one; literally meaning “one gesture”. Since it is a fairly new
language, not many people have had the chance to learn it, or want to learn a
language that no one else really knows. Gestuno is primarily learned and used
today by international translators.
Hand gestures play a major role in sign language; however
they are not the only contributing factor. One very important part is facial
expression. Speakers use different tones, inflexions, and a rise and fall in
their voice to convey different meanings and express emotion. A signer, on the
other hand, will imitate this by using facial expressions. “The same sign will
require different expressions at different times, depending upon the feeling
you wish to convey” (Fant 16). Another important factor is space. Because sign
language is a visual language, sound has no role in it; head and body movements
become of sole importance and therefor space is fundamental. Just as speakers
use their mouths, signers use an imaginary line called the “sight line” which
acts as a stage for gestures. It is “a line extending from the center of the
signer’s chest, straight out, parallel to the floor” (Fant 18). Finally,
another contributing factor is light. “Try to avoid any bright light shining
directly into the face of the person watching you. Bright lights are to deaf
people what noise is to hearing people” (Fant 16). Deaf people are very
sensitive to vibrations so tapping of the foot or drumming of the fingers
should only be done when trying to get someone’s attention otherwise it comes
off as impolite and irritating. It is vital to gesture calmly, give space, and
avoid unnecessary distractions when having a polite conversation in any sign
language.
When learning a new language, one of the hardest yet most
essential aspects is verb conjugation, however this is not the case for sign
languages. Signers use what is called a “time indicator”; a word indicating
when the action of the verb took place. For example, in verbal English a person
will say “I saw you” whereas in sign language it would be directly translated
to “Yesterday (or any other time such as last night, last week, before, etc.) I
see you”. The verb itself is not conjugated, but the tense is indicated by when
the initial action took place. This is also the case for the future tense.
Unlike English, ASL puts pronouns at the end of a sentence and in some cases
the pronouns I and you are omitted because they are
implied. When signing the plural form of a noun, a signer will repeat a
gesture, sign a number, or use words like many,
few, or some. When talking about
people such as family members, signs are gender specific and therefor different
when speaking about a male or female cousin, for example. Some words are
borrowed straight from English and don’t have a specific gesture. These words
are done by fingerspelling; “using the manual alphabet to spell out entire
words letter by letter” (Fant 1). A major problem hearing people have when
trying to learn sign language is “hearing people frequently study the signs
from [ASL] without studying the grammar of the language, and then use the signs
in the syntactical order of their own verbal language, English” (Costello xi). ASL
has many rules as does each specific language and a common mistake is direct
translation. When this happens, it becomes another language called S.E.E. sign
(Signing Exact English). “Deaf people are usually pleased at hearing a person’s
attempts at sign language communication. They are patient and willing to
assist. They are cognizant that hearing people use signs with an English
syntax, and because they are familiar with English, they will often slow down
and use signs in English order, too” (Costello xiv). Signers are very patient and
understanding when it comes to others learning their language.
Though
American Sign Language is signing in English, it is important to understand
that it is a completely different language of its own. Deaf people were not
always fortunate enough to have such an advanced and complete language. History
was not kind to them, revoking their rights as people and deeming them
uneducable. With various breakthroughs, schools were founded and a new language
formed. There are approximately 200 different sign languages around the world
an international one called Gestuno. It is central to use ample space for hand
gestures, body and head movements as well as facial expressions and proper
light. Sign language has its own etiquette and sets of rules which are
important to be respected. Hearing people may have some difficulty with signing
if they do not use the proper grammar which may turn into S.E.E. sign, but
those fluent in any sign language are always willing to help.
Works Cited
Costello,
Elaine, and Lois A. Lehman. Signing: How to Speak with Your Hands.
Toronto: Bantam, 1983. Print.
Fant,
Louie J., and Betty G. Miller. The American Sign Language Phrase Book.
3rd ed. Chicago: Contemporary, 1994. Print.
Jay,
Michelle. "History of Sign Language." - Deaf History.
Start ASL, 2008. Web. 02 Nov. 2013.
---.
"Who Invented Sign Language?" Who Invented Sign Language? Start
ASL, 2008. Web. 02 Nov. 2013.
Jones,
Travis Rolan. "Gestuno." Lifeprint.com. N.p., 12 Nov.
2001. Web. 02 Nov. 2013.
<http://lifeprint.com/asl101/pages-layout/gestuno.htm>.
Lewin,
Tamar. "Colleges See 16% Increase in Study of Sign Language." New
York Times 8 Dec. 2010: n. pag. 8 Dec. 2010. Web. 2 Nov. 2013.
Lewis, Jacob.
"American Sign Language Today." American Sign Language: Past,
Present and Future. N.p., 29 Apr. 2003. Web. 02 Nov. 2013.
