Sign Language

Sign language
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
A sign language (also signed language) is a language which uses manual communication instead of sound to convey meaning - simultaneously combining handshapes, orientation and movement of the hands, arms or body, and facial expressions to fluidly express a speaker's thoughts. Sign languages develop in deaf communities, which can include interpreters and friends and families of deaf people as well as people who are deaf or hearing-impaired themselves.
When people using different signed languages meet communication is significantly easier than when people of different spoken languages meet. Sign language in this respect gives access to an international deaf community.
However, contrary to popular belief, sign language is not universal. Wherever communities of deaf people exist, sign languages develop, but as with spoken languages, these vary from region to region. They are not based on the spoken language in the country of origin; in fact their complex spatial grammars are markedly different. However, various signed "modes" of spoken languages have been developed, such as Signed English and Walpiri Sign Language. Hundreds of sign languages are in use around the world and are at the core of local Deaf cultures.

Sign Language Variations

AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE (ASL) - the language typically used among deaf particularly the adults and is similar to Filipino Sign Language (FSL). A language in and of itself, with its own grammar and vocabulary. ASL is different from English and has a genetic relationship to French Sign Language.

PIDGIN SIGN ENGLISH (PSE) - the generic term for naturally occuring varieties which incorporate traditional ASL signs, some newer and contrived signs, and fingerspelling in flexible grammatical order. Popular nomenclature for PSE includes Sign English, Siglish, CASE and Ameslish. Although CASE and same category of the continuum.

CONCEPTUAL ACCURATE SIGNED ENGLISH (CASE) - the communication style characterized by the incorporations of traditional ASL signs, some newer signs, some contrived signs and finger spelling, along with speech and speech reading, signed in English grammatical order with minimal changes, and English is mounted exactly as spoken in the original English that is interpreted. Signs are used with an attempt to retain the meaning from ASL rather than English, so that "right" would be signed different ways depending on its meaning.

AMESLISH - a term applied differently by different people. Ameslish will refer to ASL signing with minimal incorporation of English, more fingerspelling than is typically used in ASL, and some deviation from ASL idiomatic use.

MANUALLY CODED ENGLISH (MCE) - the generic term for contrived systems for encoding english in manual form. These systems of visual English are attempts to precisely represent the English language, both its grammar and vocabulary, through the means of speech and speechreading, and the use of a combination of traditional signs, newer signs, contrived signs and fingerspelling. Contrived signs are generally are based to some degree on ASL/FSL signs. Signs are usually selected on a one sign one word basis, deviating in some significant ways from the meaning of the original ASL signs. Sound and spelling are generally the deciding factors in sign selections, rather than meaning. Thus, all meanings of the word "right" would be signed the same, while write would be signed differently. Signs are placed in English order with signs to represent English grammatical forms, such as suffixes and prefixes. MCE was devised as a means of teaching English to youngsters. Examples of MCE are SEE1, SEE2, LOVE, Manual English and Signed English.