sign language in every language?

[vittoria]

I understand there is a UK sign language and a US sign language; what's the difference? And are there sign languages for every language - French, German, Spanish etc - or is sign language already a language in its own right? If so, why would there be a UK one and a US one?

[janelh]

You're right there are a number of different systems. ASL (American Sign Language) and BSL (British Sign Language), the two biggest in the English-speaking world, are mutually unintelligible, which seems daft. You'd think it was an ideal opportunity to make a language that was not regional, rather in the way that Chinese characters can be read by all readers who know their value - regardless that the language spoken by writer and reader may be different - because they are universal symbols. Presumably the reason for the polyglot nature of sign languages is good-old lack of cooperation. Also, to impose one system globally at this stage would smack of cultural/linguistic imperialism. Other langauges also have their own systems.

[sgs]

There's an article on the development of sign languages at article 2136

[tonye]

I am a BSL Interpreter, and have had to study this topic for the last 15 years or so. As such, I hope this answer is useful to you. Sign languages around the world, have developed in parallel to spoken languages, and therefore the idea that signing could be some 'universal' language is quite absurd. As signing/gesture came before spoken language, it would be more reasonable to assume that the latter should have become the universal language. Sign Language is recognised as a language in it's own right, almost everywhere, except Britain! If the government recognised it now, they would have to commit funds to train interpreters, etc, and that's not going to happen any time soon. Within British Sign Language, there are accents/dialects akin to the spoken language, developing through families, schools and other community groups. For more information, try getting links from the CACDP website, or British Deaf Association website. Hope this is helpful.