Sign Language - how many people have it?

It’s a great thing to consider and have for possible future needs. I did BSL 1 and it enables you to communicate in general situations effectively. There are some very useful signing dvds which I got off amazon a few years ago. Watching children’s tv where there is a signer is also a great way to pick up basic signs. The signed adult television is very quick and tricky unless you are more proficient.

Yeah @mlsfurl I’m BSL Level 2, my wife is Level 3…Levels in UK, Beginner, Intermediate, Level 1, Level 2, Level 3, Level 4, and last but not least, Interpreter… It would take around 6 or 7 years fairly intensive training to reach “Interpreting Level”, basically around 1 full day each week (plus lots of homework ) for that 6 or 7 years, Interpreters are, “The Creme De La Creme”… Very few attain such lofty heights, you have to be naturally gifted, the examiners are extremely strict above Level 1, they are all Profoundly Deaf, with BSL as their first language, everything above Level 1, is video taped, each examination is in 3 parts, poor hand shape is an automatic failure, as is lack of facial expressions, 2 Deaf Examiner’s are in attendance at all times… Durham University (The University for the Deaf) has a final say, on whether you pass or not, upon examination of your taped video tests, getting to Level 1, involves a lot of learning, but it is doable, and is much fun to learn, Level 2, is hard, Level 3 is very difficult, Level 4, will be very Challenging! Interpreters, I only know 4, out of hundreds of signer’s… Don’t let any of the above put you off though, some folks take to it, like a duck to water, and as I said, Sign Language is fun to learn, it gives you confidence, especially after making a complete fool of yourself, in front of the whole class, often enough Being dyslexic, the finger spelling always got me, and certain signs always escape your memory, it doesn’t matter how often you practice, your memory will lapse, it’s difficult to think like a Deaf person, for instance, in spoken English, we might say; “What is your name” in sign language, “Your name what”… Tis back to front I did the Lip Reading classes also, that was fun also, but no examination’s! Tis strange how putting a video camera on, in any examination, to be scrutinised at Durham University, puts all kinds of stress on you, the videos are also timed, an overrun or under run, can also sometimes fail you, designed to put you under pressure, it lives up too expectations… Now, do I regard myself as a signer, with around 2k hours of learning? I did Level 2 course, more than once, failing to complete it, twice because of Meniers Disease… No, no chance! I know enough to get bye, I sign with my wife most days, usually in the mornings, I will leave my aids out, and just sign… Funny enough, if I am on my own, and my wife is off out somewhere, I will leave my aids out, unless I am expecting someone, or expecting a phone call, I occasionally like to be cocooned in my own little world, away from the hustle & bustle of this world, doing woodworking, it is then, I am probably at my happiest? Good Luck, if you decide to go ahead and learn some sign language, you will enjoy the experience, but after Level 1, it starts to get serious… Cheers Kev

Yeah @hearing-love_loss in an ideal world, yes it would be helpful, and perhaps this is why sign language, becomes complicated… Although some signs are iconic, most ASL & BSL or any other sign language, the world over, they will have regional variations, there are basically thousands of signs… You can buy the standard book of BSL, in it, you will get the standard signs, but some of those signs aren’t used in Aberdeen, Glasgow or indeed London, Deaf Culture is wide and varied, standardising sign language doesn’t really work, as Deaf folks without speech, will continue on their merry way, using the signs they have always used… Consider it, like an accent, these regional variations are how a Deaf person recognises where the signer is from, or what Deaf School they went too… Tis a bit like telling someone in the “Deep South” of the USA, or a London Cockney, “can you speak English please” they bare very little resemblance to standard English, getting them to comply would be virtually impossible, they don’t know how to speak the King’s English, these are the words they have always used, sign language is no different, these are the signs that are prevalent to that particular area… Tis very confusing, I know, but it is what it is… Cheers Kev

I don’t know sign language despite my profound/deaf hearing loss. Even if I learned it, no one around me knows it. So…

Can’t sign but I should learn to.

I am severe to profound and am getting worse. The worse I get, the less I wear my hearing aids. I cannot carry on a conversation without them now. I have learned sign language and use it with my wife when I’m not wearing my aids. However, if it is a longer conversation, I put them on because she struggles with sign. She also wears hearing aids.
I was raised to read lips and had lots of speech therapy. I did not have access to the Deaf community when I was growing up.

I was reasonably proficient when young, largely because I had students who were deaf and even deaf-blind in one case, but I also made a lot of use of interpreters. I think ASL is very expressive and an enjoyable way to communicate. It’s really easy to pick up some basics and finger spelling is pretty intuitive.

Yes- pretty ridiculous every country comes up with its own version of sign language. No clue how that works out where I live (country with four official languages)… major reason not to learn any.

Below is a link to the timeline of the development of British Sign Language (BSL) I know a few profoundly Deaf folks, whom are Deaf with no speech, one in particular sticks out in my mind, she was my first BSL tutor, a lovely lady, now passed… I recall her telling me of the cruelty they all endured in the “Deaf School”… Forced to learn to speak, with no hearing, made to sit on their hands, all day long in class, to stop them from signing to other young children… UK education has a lot to answer for!!! Cheers Kev.

BSL Timeline3

Less than 1% of the US population knows ASL. So how would it be helpful in an emergency? I would think a captioning app you can speak into would work better. Or even a pencil & paper.

Yeah @neroth8, possibly 0.5 million ASL signers, in the USA… And around 10k registered ASL Interpreters… It has grown in popularity here in the Scottish Highlands, as Deaf kids are now part of mainstream education, so it is now part of the Primary School curriculum ( 5 to 12 year olds) most of the primary school pupils have basic signing skills, some are likely to go on, and become quite advanced… Especially if BSL interests them, and as we all know, kids are proverbial sponges, they soak in learning, and they should retain some of those skills, into their adult lives…Cheers Kev

Ridiculous? How come it’s ridiculous? Languages develop in a region and for a sign language to be universal worldwide deaf people should meet every deaf in every other country.

It’s perfectly normal for having different sign languages as well as we have different spoken languages (they do develop in a local manner - as every other language does). Using your words, it’s ridiculous we have so many spoken laguages…