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Sign language

Visual-manual languages used primarily by Deaf communities. Natural languages with their own grammar, history, varieties, and social roles, distinct from body language and spoken languages.

Author: Leandro Alegsa Creation date: November 13, 2022 Last updated: May 2, 2026

simple.wikipedia.org · CC BY 2.0

Sign languages are fully developed natural languages that use the hands, face, body and visual space to convey meaning. They arise and evolve in Deaf communities and are acquired by children as a first language when exposed early. Like spoken languages, they have systematic rules for forming words and sentences, and they can express abstract, technical and poetic ideas.

Characteristics and core elements

Sign languages rely on several coordinated components rather than sounds. Primary elements include handshape, location (where signs are produced), movement, orientation, and non-manual signals such as facial expressions and head or torso movements. These elements combine in patterned ways to create a sign language's equivalent of phonology, morphology and syntax. Visual-spatial features allow simultaneous expression of information—for example, indicating subject, object and spatial relations at once.

Manual signals: hand configurations and motions.
Non-manual signals: facial expressions, eyebrow position, mouth patterns.
Use of space: placing referents in signing space to show relationships.
Iconicity and arbitrariness: some signs visually resemble their referent while others are symbolic.

History and development

Sign languages develop naturally wherever groups of deaf and hearing people interact. Educational institutions for deaf students and social networks have shaped many national sign languages. Influential figures and schools—most notably in Europe during the 18th and 19th centuries—helped spread and standardize forms used in particular regions, but each sign language maintains its own structure and history. New sign languages continue to emerge in communities around the world.

Varieties and examples

There is no single universal sign language. Distinct languages include American Sign Language (ASL), British Sign Language (BSL), Langue des Signes Française (LSF) and many others. Some countries recognize their national sign language legally and support interpreting services and education. Related systems such as signed forms of spoken languages or manually coded systems are different from natural sign languages and were often created for educational or translation purposes.

Sign languages are central to cultural identity and everyday communication in Deaf communities. They are used in homes, schools, workplaces and media. Bilingual-bicultural educational approaches treat a national sign language as the primary language of instruction while teaching the surrounding spoken/written language as a second language. Interpreters, captioning and technology for visual communication extend access to services, information and employment.

Distinctions and notable facts

Sign languages are distinct from body language, which refers to gestures and posture that accompany speech and social interaction, and they differ fundamentally from spoken languages, which are auditory-vocal. Linguists study sign languages to understand how modality (visual-manual versus auditory-vocal) shapes language structure and use. Recognition of sign languages supports human rights, education and cultural preservation for Deaf people worldwide.

The nature of sign language and its relation to spoken language

The signs are phonologically decomposed into four parameters, which are further analyzed phonemically: in hand configuration, hand orientation, movement execution and place of movement. Many signs are highly inflected. Information can be incorporated pronominal (through different visible forms) in a single gesture, e.g. in DGS the verb gesture, glossed as I-BOOK-GIVE-YOU-SHELL includes the direction of movement from "I" to "you", and quickly, and the hand configuration indicates holding an imaginary book. When modified in the movement from "you" to "me", results in YOU-BOOK-GIVING-ME-FAST. The gesture can be modified with other hand shapes to indicate what is being given, such as a thick or thin book, a bottle, a football or golf ball, a piece of paper, a stack of books, etc. Added to this is the different orientation of the hand or hands, whether the object is handed horizontally or vertically. A total of seven parts of meaning can be recognized in this single gesture: Subject, receiver (singular or plural), its locality (left, right, near or far), object, size or quantity of the object, verbal adverb, once or repeatedly. In addition, additional meanings are simultaneously added by parts of the face and head movements, e.g. "gladly" or "reluctantly" can be shown with it. Besides inflection, this is also called "incorporation" in linguistics.

Because of the decomposability of signs and structuring within the sentence, sign languages must be considered as full-fledged languages in their own right. They cannot, as is often mistakenly believed, be regarded as derived from the spoken language of their environment. The name of sign language in Germany, Deutsche Gebärdensprache (DGS), does not mean German in sign form, but sign language as used by deaf speakers in Germany.

The gestures formed by the hands form the content of a sentence. In addition, movements of the upper body and the face play a prominent role. Above all, facial expressions serve to encode grammar. Many grammatical function words, such as whether or if find expression exclusively in the face. Since the grammar is mainly expressed with facial expressions, sign language speakers also tend to look into their eyes rather than at their hands.

Sign languages differ from country to country and even within a country. In German-speaking countries, the German Sign Language (DGS) used in Germany and in Luxembourg, the Austrian Sign Language (ÖGS) and the Swiss-German Sign Language (DSGS) are used. The sign language used in Liechtenstein is closely related to DSGS and can therefore be considered a DSGS dialect. Within Switzerland, DSGS knows five different dialects (Zurich, Bernese, Basel, Lucerne and St. Gallen dialect), Switzerland in turn also knows the Langue des signes Suisse romande (LSF-SR) with five dialects and the Lingua dei segni della Svizzera italiana (LIS-SI) with two varieties.

The most common is American Sign Language (ASL), used in North America, Caribbean islands other than Cuba, parts of Central America, and some African and Asian nations.

Many signs of the different sign languages are similar to each other because of their iconic or motivated origin. Many inflections in the signs are also similar in almost all sign languages. Nevertheless, a mutual understanding is not always given. The historical relationship between sign languages is decisive for communication, so that users of sign languages of the same sign language family can communicate to some extent. Since most sign languages in continental Europe belong to the French sign language family, mutual understanding is reasonably possible there. On international occasions, International Sign, Gestuno or International Sign-Talk are used, which are considered by some to be pidgin languages.

Sign languages are - as numerous studies with imaging methods indicate - processed in the same brain regions in which spoken languages are processed. From this it is concluded that human language can no longer be defined merely as a spoken language system.

The sign for German in some sign languages symbolizes a pickelhaube and used to mean "Schutzmann" in German-speaking areas.

For comparison: The DGS sign for German in signwriting.

Manual coding systems for the German language

To be distinguished from sign language are the so-called manual-visual coding systems of the German language:

Finger alphabet
Sign-assisted communication (GuK)
Signs accompanying spoken language (LBG)
Signs that support spoken language (LUG)
Cued Speech (German: Phonembestimmtes Manualsystem; mouth-hand system)

Questions and Answers

Q: What is sign language?

A: Sign language is a means of communication using the hands and other parts of the body.

Q: What distinguishes sign language from body language?

A: Sign language is a distinct way of communicating using hands and body parts, while body language encompasses all forms of nonverbal communication.

Q: How do deaf people communicate through sign language?

A: Deaf people use sign language to replace spoken languages, as sign languages are easier to use and understand for them.

Q: How is sign language different from spoken languages?

A: Sign languages use visual cues and are understood by the eyes, while spoken languages use sounds and are understood by the ears.

Q: Why are sign languages important?

A: Sign languages are crucial for deaf people to communicate with their peers and the hearing community.

Q: Can anyone learn and use sign language?

A: Yes, anyone can learn to use sign language as a means of communication, regardless of their hearing ability.

Q: Are there different types of sign languages?

A: Yes, there are many different types of sign languages that are specific to different regions and communities around the world.

Author

AlegsaOnline.com - Sign language - Leandro Alegsa

Creation date: November 13, 2022
Last updated: May 2, 2026

URL: https://en.alegsaonline.com/art/90317