Introduction to Sign Language

For centuries, people who were hard of hearing or deaf have relied on communicating with others through visual cues. As deaf communities grew, people began to standardize signs, building a rich vocabulary and grammar that exists independently of any other language. A casual observer of a conversation conducted in sign language might describe it as graceful, dramatic, frantic, comic or angry without knowing what a single sign meant.

There are hundreds of sign languages. Wherever there are communities of deaf people, you'll find them communicating with a unique vocabulary and grammar. Even within a single country, you can encounter regional variations and dialects -- like any spoken language, you're bound to find people in different regions who communicate the same concept in different ways.



It may seem strange to those who don't speak sign language, but countries that share a common spoken language do not necessarily share a common sign language.

There is no direct correlation between natural sign languages and spoken languages -- speakers of sign language communicate through concepts, not words. While it is possible to interpret sign language into a spoken language such as English (and vice versa), such an interpretation would not be a direct translation.

Most speakers of sign language find it difficult to learn it from books and static pictures. The way a speaker signs a concept can say more about his meaning than the sign itself. Pictures don't capture the nuances that are intrinsic for clear communication with sign language, and sometimes it is difficult to communicate the motions some signs require without video, animation or an in-person demonstration.

Talking With Your Hands
While it is true that you don't have to vocalize when using sign language with someone else, most people still call the process of communicating through sign language "speaking." In this article, we'll use the terms speaking and signing interchangeably.

If you are the listener in a sign language conversation, you receive signs. The person signing is the speaker, and the person watching is the receiver. When receiving, you should focus on the speaker's face and eyes, using your peripheral vision to watch hand signs. Much of the meaning in sign language comes across in facial expressions, and by focusing solely on the speaker's hands you'll likely misinterpret what the speaker is trying to communicate.