Week #3 Reflection: Sign Languages

This week we discussed verbal communication, one might assume that verbal communication only refers to the spoken word, but you'd be wrong as verbal communication also deals with written language (like this blog post) as well as sign language.

Something I've always been interested in is the difference between ASL and other sign languages because the name "American" Sign Language clearly suggests that there are more out there.


A google search led me to several different results, one page claimed there were 20, another said 100, and yet another said 200. While I would love to find out more about all of these, I'll just be focusing on BSL (British Sign Language) in this post.

 I found this video demonstrating the difference in the fingerspelling (aka sign language ABCs)  for each of the languages:
 The starkest difference is that while the ASL versions are done with only one hand, the BSL signs required two hands for most of the signs (though both Cs looked really similar)

 The American version seemed like a simplified/more efficient way to sign ( in my opinion as a person who doesn't use sign language) and reminded me of the evolution of pictographs into simpler symbols   
I'm really happy that I took the time to delve a little deeper into the world of sign language and to finally have answered the question I had ages ago.

-A.C

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