Different sign languages

[XweienX]

It's no surprise that there are many types of sign languages. However, I'd like to get your opinions on whether it is important to learn the sign language of your country? Personally, I'm from Malaysia, and from what I read online, Malaysian Sign Language is based on ASL.

Also, is ASL a more universal sign language (like English is to spoken languages)? Or do people from countries outside the US only "purely" use their country's sign language?

[some background: I've only learned some ASL vocabs and very basic conversation online and was planning to enroll in a sign language course, but the only courses offered around me are for Malaysian Sign Language.]

 

[DeafNerdMommy]

Asl was originally brought over from France. A lot of American signs are still based off of the French ones. But I have seen looks of people from other countries learning asl instead of their home sign language.

 

[AlleyCat]

I think BSL is very common in the U.K. There are a number of posters here too who use it.

 

[BecLak]

There is a national sign language for every country, just as there is a spoken national language for the most part.
ASL is American Sign Language. There is ISL, International Sign Language used in internationally attended conferences such as World Federation of the Deaf Conferences, but this is mostly gestural (not a full fledged language) comprised of the most mutually used signs.
In my country Australia we use Auslan (Australian Sign Language). You will find that most Deaf can find a way to understand each other even though their own sign languages may differ immensely.

 

[Jane B.]

Asl was originally brought over from France. A lot of American signs are still based off of the French ones. But I have seen looks of people from other countries learning asl instead of their home sign language.

I am not in a place where I have been able to make the contacts necessary to really lean to use ASL (took a community college beginning course two different semesters back in the 1980s but made NO contacts to really use it).

But it has continued to feel wrong to me that those bringing it to the USA allowed the use of French grammar in an English speaking country. Sure learn techniques from the French BUT apply grammar from the English language which is the most common spoken language here! That drastic difference in grammar between American English and ASL is probably a major reason why many of those of us, including me, that were late deafened find it hard,

 

[Mieke]

I am not in a place where I have been able to make the contacts necessary to really lean to use ASL (took a community college beginning course two different semesters back in the 1980s but made NO contacts to really use it).

But it has continued to feel wrong to me that those bringing it to the USA allowed the use of French grammar in an English speaking country. Sure learn techniques from the French BUT apply grammar from the English language which is the most common spoken language here! That drastic difference in grammar between American English and ASL is probably a major reason why many of those of us, including me, that were late deafened find it hard,

Jane for your info, the grammar of ASL has nothing to do with French grammar. Learning a new language is never easy

 

[Jane B.]

Jane for your info, the grammar of ASL has nothing to do with French grammar. Learning a new language is never easy

Regardless of where it came from why does it have to have been developed as soooo different from American English when it was being developed for use here??

 

[LoveBlue]

Regardless of where it came from why does it have to have been developed as soooo different from American English when it was being developed for use here??

Because the Deaf think in different ways than we do. You do realize that our English uses more words to convey messages than a lot of other languages, don't you? The Deaf get straight to the point.

 

[LoveBlue]

Regardless of where it came from why does it have to have been developed as soooo different from American English when it was being developed for use here??

Maybe you need to learn SEE

 

[Anij]

Regardless of where it came from why does it have to have been developed as soooo different from American English when it was being developed for use here??

Because ASL wasn't "Developed for use here" - ASL is it's own language that has grown and evolved naturally (like all living languages) to be perfectly suited for use for us. It's not designed to be "easy for Hearing people to learn" - any more than Mandarin should somehow be made "easy for English speakers to learn" because you think it would be more convenient for you.

ASL (and all true Signed Languages) takes full advantage of being 3 dimensional - using movement, speed, facial expression etc.

To clarify while ASLs roots are in largely LSF - much like English is actually rooted in German, French, Latin, Greek, and many other languages.

 

[DeafDucky]

Regardless of where it came from why does it have to have been developed as soooo different from American English when it was being developed for use here??

Because ASL is more visual than English is. Deaf rely on vision more than hearing. In English you can hear the tone of words and understand the differences between many. In ASL you SEE the difference in tone etc.

I've known many deaf who 'came late' to ASL, including yours truly. Age doesn't matter. I've known young people who could never get the hang of ASL so would sign more in English word order without the rules of SEE/MCE or just drop it altogether (and drop out of Gallaudet) and I've known/seen much older folks take to ASL like a duck to water. It's like any other language.

 

[Calvin]

Regardless of where it came from why does it have to have been developed as soooo different from American English when it was being developed for use here??

Let's see...there is about 6500 languages in the world today. From the source: https://www.daytranslations.com/world-languages:

It is uncertain how many languages have written forms, just as there is no definite number that can be given for sign languages used on a global scale. The closest estimate places it at 300.

Sign language is not universal and like languages and dialects, it also has several varieties. In some cases, a country can have a few different sign languages. In Spain for example, there is the Catalan Sign Language and the Spanish Sign Language. Likewise, in Belgium, the country uses two sign languages, one for Flemish and one for Belgian French. At the same time, even countries with the same spoken languages can have different sign languages. The existence of different sign languages is closely linked to the historical development of spoken languages.

I find foreign sign language interesting although I do not understand them but their unique signs is amazing. It's their culture to use their country language like Auslan, BSL to name a couple more.

If the grammar is so important to you, keep in mind that the grammar language is different for everyone, maybe you need to step back being grammar police for once.

 

[AlleyCat]

Regardless of where it came from why does it have to have been developed as soooo different from American English when it was being developed for use here??

Because it was developed for the d/Deaf, Jane. Many countries have more than one language. Look at Canada. Look at the U.K. ASL is entirely its OWN language, not to be confused with English. Those who use PSE or SEE can have more grammatical structure because while they're using sign, they're also using English. Why this constant criticism of grammar and spelling here? This is a d/Deaf forum, after all.

 

[AlleyCat]

I am both an ASL user and a PSE user, and neither reflect my grammar or spelling. Don't be so quick to judge.

 

[Reba]

Regardless of where it came from why does it have to have been developed as soooo different from American English when it was being developed for use here??

Because the syntax developed naturally in a way that fit the spatial aspects of a visual language. It's very logical in it's application.