What do you think of when you hear the words "sign language"? If you're like most people, if you're like I was before I started studying it, you'd think that it's some kind of language in which the hands are moved around in a specific manner so as to signify words and sentences in order to convey thoughts or ideas between deaf people. You'd think that there is one sign language that all deaf people understand. You'd be wrong. So was I. It's amazing what an education can do.
All signed languages are as mutible and diverse as are all spoken languages. They vary from country to country, region to region, family to family, social group to social group. Yet there are some similarities throughout. Just as an American tourist in Spain will undoubtedly hear a few words that they can understand or make sense of, so will an American Deaf person who uses sign language be able to understand or make sense of a few signs that are native to China. However, since sign language not only incorporates proper signs, but also common gestures, body langauge, facial expressions, etc., it is very likely that Deaf people from different countries may understand each other better than Hearing people from different countries.
Let's discuss the various kinds of manual systems, looking at it as a continuum from spoken English to pure American Sign Language. The information listed in this section is taken from Introduction to Audiologic Rehabilitation by Ronald L. Schow and Michael A. Nerbonne. Any personal asides by me will be presented in parenthesis ().
Spoken English: independent language; aural/oral mode (relies on speech and hearing); unique syntax & grammar; words are meaning based; contains dialects, regionalisms, slang, puns; can be written; wide range of vocabulary covering tiny differences in meaning; may borrow from other languages; is verbal, but also makes use of nonverbal elements.
Cued Speech: (not a signed language) employs 8 handshapes in 4 positions on the face, and used in conjunction with lip movements to enable a deaf person to lipread more easily; based on the sound with the syllable as the basic unit; devised by Orin Cornette at Gallaudet College. (This system was devised to give an easily discriminable visual stimulus made by the handshape and placement of the hand on or near the face to "cue" deaf people as to which sound was being made at any given time. Brought about because several sounds look the same on the lips when spoken. Very limiting as use of the cue system is usually restricted to speech sessions and on occasion in the home.)
Fingerspelling: (not a signed language) one handshape used for each letter of the alphabet; when used with speech and speechreading, it is called the Rochester Method. (Essentially this method entails spelling every word that is said. I do not call this a language any more than I would call t-h-i-s a l-a-n-g-u-a-g-e. It is very time consuming and is likely to cause a repetitive stress disorder like carpal tunnel in people to which it is a secondary mode of communciation.)
-- Illustration of the Signed Alphabet
Seeing Essential English (SEE I): artificial sign system invented for educational purposes; signs are based on word roots [morphemes; for example trans/port/a/tion]; and extreme form of word-based signs; signs for all affixes; not terribly popular in the United States. (This system is literal to the extreme. For example, the word "today" is broken into "to" + "day" and is signed "to" as in the preposition "to the store" plus the sign "day". Loses the conceptual meaning of words.)
Signing Exact English (SEE II): artificial sign system invented for educational purposes; signs are word based; special signs for all affixes in English; signed in strict accordance with English; used widely in educational settings; very influential. (This is a little better than SEE I in that the signs retain conceptual meaning, but is still very bulky to sign as unnecessary articles like a, an, and the as well as word endings -s, -ed, -ing, etc. are used at all times when really their use can muddle the message. This is a good system to teach English in, but should not be relied on for everyday language acquisition, in my opinion.)
Linguistics of Visual English (LOVE): essentially the same as SEE II, but has a method of writing each sign; used in education, but usage is diminishing. (I have no idea what this is. Don't ask me.)
Signed English: artificial sign system invented for educational purposes; signed in accordance with English grammar, but signs are meaning based (more conceptual, less literal); specially invented sign markers for important affixes in English; used widely in education. (This is more like it, but many affixes can be dropped for easy temporal markers. For example, instead of signing "Yesterday, I paint+ed" you can just as easily say "Yesterday, me paint." The word yesterday tells the other person that any verb used when talking about whatever happened yesterday will be past tense. Tense is understood.)
Pidgin Sign Language (PSL): also called Pidgin Signed English (PSE) and sometimes referred to as Conceptually Accurate Signed English (CASE); a combination of elements from ASL and the sign systems, ranging from more ASL-like to the more English-like; usually contains few if any sign markers, yet makes frequent use of fingerspelled English words (some words have no signs); used in conjunction with speech in interpreting and college teaching; signs are meaning based. (This is my baby. This is what I use when I sign. Sometimes it's more ASL, sometimes it's more English. Sometimes it's more word-for-word, sometimes it's more of painting a picture in the air. Some Deaf people feel that even this language is too cumbersome and tiring to watch all the time, but those same people when given a choice between PSE or SEE I would choose PSE every time. PSE is used by a majority of sign language interpreters, though certification standards are more and more requiring them to learn and be proficient in ASL as well. My opinion is that PSE is perfect for hearing people who want to be conversationally adept in sign.)
American Sign Language (ASL): independent language; visual/manual mode; possesses a unique grammar and syntax; signs are meaning based; has dialects, regionalisms, slang, puns; wide range of vocabulary covering tiny differences in meaning; may borrow from other languages. (Attempts were made to have a written form of ASL, but these were highly unsuccessful. Deaf people who sign ASL are vocal when signing, but comprehension of ASL relies mostly on the nonverbal elements. This is the baby of the Deaf Community. It is a highly idiomatic language that can talk about more than one thing at the same time without confusing the message. An ASL signer uses their signing space to paint a picture, showing how various elements relate to one another, and discussing the subject at hand. Generally speaking, ASL has been recognized as a foreign language even though it is native to America, however foreign language departments in colleges are slow to recognize ASL as a foreign language that can be studied for credit.)
You may want to reread the characteristics attributed to spoken English and then compare them to ASL. You will find more similarities than differences. In my opinion, the only difference between English and ASL is the medium through which the language is transmitted and, in some cases, vocabulary used. I primarily use PSE because English was my first language. My brain thinks in English, and therefore the signs I use are more or less in English word order.
I made a statement of dubious accuracy just a moment ago when I said that ASL is native to America. If you have studied in this subject area, you'll be a good little student and say "What about Thomas Gallaudet and Larent Clerc? Didn't American Sign Language really come from France?" It is true that the first formal school for the Deaf in America was taught in the type of French sign language that Laurent Clerc taught Thomas Gallaudet. However, there was a manual system of communication used by deaf people already in place before Gallaudet went to Europe in search of a way to teach deaf people. These signs combined with the French signs that Gallaudet brought back with him. Some of the French signs were adapted or totally changed by this pre-existing sign system, while some of the French signs were completely adopted by the American deaf population. Today, about 60% of signs in ASL are French signs or of French origin.
