British Sign Language

I recently completed a beginners' British Sign Language (BSL) course online and it's given me the bug to continue with this fascinating language.  I thought it worthwhile to share my progress and learnings with you all.

The course in question was with British-Sign.  As I recall it cost around £20 and was a great initial insight into a language that I knew absolutely nothing about prior to commencing the course.

I did not know, for example, that BSL is not derivative of English at all, but has evolved in much the same way as a spoken language would, within the community that uses it.  In this way there are regional variations on sign language, much like with any spoken language.

This is demonstrated further, as BSL is unique to Britain, with other English-speaking countries (namely U.S.A and Australia) having their own organic sign languages.

There is a distinction, also, between the terms deaf and Deaf, the former (in a nutshell) being those who have become deaf later in life and identify to varying degrees with the Deaf community, many of whom will remain part of the hearing community and lip-read as well as being able to sign.  The latter are those who have always been Deaf and whose social interactions remain almost exclusively within the Deaf community.

To continue my learning I have begun with the Teach Yourself book and DVD series, which is wonderfully set out to explain the grammar and body language of BSL, visually demonstrating the signs brilliantly on page as well as through video.

The photo below shows the kind of diagram included in the book, with indicators used to denote features of body language - an important feature of BSL.  An example below is the crossing out of the word "you".  This is to indicate that the word does not need to be mouthed by the signer.

Below are a couple of short videos of me practising my new vocabulary, along with some notes on technique that I have picked up.  If you know BSL, and spot a mistake in my signing, please do feel free to comment, as I am learning and currently do not know any other signers for practise!

Hello, how are you?

Some technique tips:

- Remember to use facial expressions to communicate along with your signing:

- Questions can be shown by raising your eyebrows.

- Answers can be made clearer by nodding to show affirmation, or shaking your head to contradict.

- Resist the urge to translate from "pidgin" English.  The signs need to become "vocabulary" in their own right for signing to flow naturally.

- Mouthing words is usual, but is not always required.  Two such examples, are the words "me" and "you", as pointing is sufficient denotation for these.

- Pointing in BSL is not considered rude - you are simply communicating, there is no other stigma attached.

I'm well, thank you!