Sign Language - how many people have it?

Spoken languages evolved in the mists of time, sign languages are far more recent inventions. Let’s just say that having a single, universal one in our global world is a missed opportunity, and that even Americans and Brits coming up with their own home versions is an absurd mess. The situation certainly disencourages learning four of these in a single, crowded country like Switzerland (and six if you throw in English)…
I know, an Esperanto revolution is not going to happen (or will fail the same way). What I do expect to happen soon is that deaf people can take their cheap smartphone out and get verbatim, accurate, real-time transcriptions (“subtitles”) of what an other person is saying- in any language.
In schools, preparing for the future, I would rather teach hearing-impaired kids speed-reading (and -typing) and some lip-reading, not obsolete skills (there-I’ve said it!) like a local version of sign language.

Yeah @RobHooft… In an ideal world, a universal standardised form of sign language would be fine, unfortunately we don’t live in such a world… In order to understand how “Deaf Culture” works, you must try to see it from their perspective, the “Deaf”, do not trust the hearing world, they have been persecuted for hundreds of years, for no other reason, than being Deaf… They are aloof, and regard themselves as above the hearing world, ASL signers are particularly militant in the States, they do not regard being Deaf as a disability, in their eyes it is an asset, for the continuation of their culture, for many, having a hearing child, would be regarded as an extreme disappointment, they want, and probably pray for Deaf children! English, French, Spanish or whatever language, isn’t their language, sign language is in their eyes, the only true language… Sign language, is a beautiful language, it’s very structured, and obviously very visual, in many respects, it’s unique, for instance “Multi Channels”, these are signs that have no direct translation into aural language…Basically, those whom were born Deaf, pre-lingually Deaf, is perhaps the best term, they want nothing to do with the hearing world, we have little or no interest to them, and they will ignore us all, if they can! HOH, are not part of their culture, they suffer us, but only just… Cochlear Implants are regarded as an abomination, they want nothing to do with them! Deaf Culture, for us is perhaps very difficult to fathom, simply because we were once part of the hearing world, and as such, we still attach ourselves to that world, in all truth, we are neither Deaf, nor hearing, and stuck in a limbo between the 2. The Deaf, have no such illusions, they are a society, within society, whom probably see themselves as a cut above the rest, and given the evidence of how badly we treat this planet & its inhabitants, who could blame them! Cheers Kev

Thanks for giving us that perspective. Yes, huge gap between being “merely” hearing-impaired and born deaf- I cannot really imagine how that would be. Learning a language must be difficult, too, and having people around you nonstop communicating -including about you- must be terrible and give you a lifelong feeling of exclusion.

You are very welcome @RobHooft… If you think about it logically, a pre-lingually Deaf person, has never heard the spoken word, to them, it is beyond their comprehension, so they can’t envisage the attraction, sign language is all they have ever known, and all they will ever need to communicate with fellow signers… Interestingly, sign language is 5 times faster than you can speak, and up to 7 times quicker than oral language, much depends on whom is signing Cheers Kev.

I don’t sign, but my wife is fluent in ASL

Something I’ve considered (wondered about) is really how universal is it really.

Thinking back when I was a active SCUBA diver, some very basic level diving sign is taught, but even a lot of that varies by which agency is doing the training, and I’d imagine even somewhat regionally and personally. Still it’s mostly just basic and intuitive communication. Two experienced divers that don’t know each other and with vastly different training and background can get the message across generally.

So I wonder if folks that speak entirely different languages can get basic level communication through EASIER than speaking folks from those same countries… ASL vs German vs whatever they do in Russia or China for example…

Nope. Sign language is country-specific (linked to spoken language). A missed opportunity and major disincentive to learn one… A bit as if Morse had decided to use different codes for each letter for each language…

It’s much more than that @RobHooft… It’s actually area specific, for instance, here in Scotland, (and all over the world) certain signs, are unique to a specific area, but it is fairly easy for a “Deaf” person to quickly adapt, places like Aberdeen, Glasgow and say Edinburgh, will all use different signs, that are prevalent to that area, these are called regional variations, and this is how a “Deaf” person will immediately suss, where you are from, in effect, it’s like an accent… Sign language is hundreds of years old, and fully recognised in the UK as a minority language, some signs, called “Multi Channels” are totally unique to “Deaf Culture”, they have no direct translation into aural language… Amazingly, Sign Language is 5 times faster than you can speak, and up too 7 times faster, depending on whom is signing!!! Every Signer, has their own unique “Sign Name” mine was, “Kevin Ponytail” I used to wear my hair, extremely long, all the local Big “D” would know me as Kevin Ponytail, it’s visual, if I had big ears, or big nose, or a facial scar, or a prominent limp, my Sign Name might be different, there is no embarrassment about bodily imperfections in “Deaf Culture” they call it as it is… Cheers Kev