Sign Language

A nonverbal language that serves as a system of communication for people who are hearing impaired. Sign language uses hand signals to represent letters of the alphabet and gestures to represent words, phrases, and concepts. As in spoken languages, sign languages incorporate an extensive vocabulary with rules that govern its presentation (grammar and syntax). The sign languages most used in the United States are

• American Sign Language (ASL) derives its structure from French Sign Language, which was the first formal sign language, and is a unique language separate from spoken English. ASL is the third most common language in the United States.
• Signing Exact English (SEE) evolved in the early 1970s as a method to manually code spoken English for children learning to read and for people without hearing impairment who communicate with those who have hearing impairment.
• Pidgin Signed English (PSE) blends aspects of ASL and SEE for colloquial or casual communication.

Though sign languages may carry a culture’s name, such as American Sign Language or Japanese Sign Language, there is no correlation between the sign language and the culture’s spoken language. Nor are sign languages necessarily similar to each other.

The BRAIN processes sign languages differently from spoken languages. Because spoken languages form the basis for reading and writing, prelingual children who have profound HEARING LOSS may easily learn a sign language and yet have difficulty learning to read and write.