[Misc] Is Sign Language Internationally Shared?

Change at Barnham

Well-known member

Aug 6, 2011

4,901

Bognor Regis

• Mar 22, 2020

• #1

Watching the various press conferences from around the world, most have a person relaying the information by using sign language.

Can someone who knows sign language understand a speech from any country?

If so, it would be very useful if we all learnt it for when travelling overseas.

 

Birdie Boy

Well-known member

Jun 17, 2011

4,108

• Mar 22, 2020

• #2

I don't know sign language but I do know that the US use a different one to us. I have no idea if other European countries are the same as the UK or US or a different one.

Sent from my WAS-LX1A using Tapatalk

 

N

Neville's Breakfast

Well-known member

May 1, 2016

13,423

Oxton, Birkenhead

• Mar 22, 2020

• #3

Change at Barnham said:

Watching the various press conferences from around the world, most have a person relaying the information by using sign language.

Can someone who knows sign language understand a speech from any country?

If so, it would be very useful if we all learnt it for when travelling overseas.

Click to expand...

Unfortunately, no. The main ones are American and British sign language. There are also variations of these two around the world. Certain core words are understood globally, a bit like with speech.

 

Bakero

Languidly clinical

Oct 9, 2010

13,752

Almería

• Mar 22, 2020

• #4

Sign languages are natural languages that have the same linguistic properties as spoken languages. They have evolved over years in the different Deaf Communities across the world and Europe. Despite widespread opinions there is not one single universal sign language in the world or even in Europe. Just as spoken languages, sign languages vary greatly between countries and ethnic groups. Some countries have more than one sign language or dialect. Countries that have the same spoken language do not necessarily have the same signed language (see for example Germany and Austria).

https://www.eud.eu/about-us/eud-position-paper/international-sign-guidelines/

 

Swansman

Pro-peace

May 13, 2019

22,320

Sweden

• Mar 22, 2020

• #5

No, we had a sign interpreter course at the school I went to for four years and they told me its very different, often even within countries. Back in the days they used to fight for a common universal language but as more and more deaf/hearing impaired people get help from technology, the demand is decreasing.