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2 - Multilingualism: The global approach to sign languages

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 November 2009

By
Bencie Woll ,
Rachel Sutton-Spence  and
Frances Elton
Edited by
Ceil Lucas
Bencie Woll
Affiliation:
Department of Language and Communication Science at City University, London
Rachel Sutton-Spence
Affiliation:
Lecturer in Deaf Studies, Centre for Deaf Studies at the University of Bristol, UK
Frances Elton
Affiliation:
Lecturer in Sign Language and Deaf Studies, City University in London
Ceil Lucas
Affiliation:
Gallaudet University, Washington DC
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Summary

A language is a dialect with an army and a navy.

Anon

And the whole earth was of one language and of one speech.

Genesis 11:1

Sign language is sometimes called gesture speech as it is a method of conversing by means of gestures or signs. It is a form of speech in use among civilised and savage races, which is perfectly understood, and although greatly limited in its forms of expression by those who have spoken language, rich in its vocabulary and possessed of an extensive literature.

John Maclean, 1896

This chapter provides an overview of the occurrence and distribution of sign languages around the world. Every year, the existence of more sign languages and more signing communities is being recognized. Lexicography (the making of sign language dictionaries) and analyses of the structure and use of these languages follow recognition and play a key role in the empowerment of deaf people. This chapter provides an estimate of the number of sign languages in existence and describes the diversity of Deaf communities using sign languages. It outlines the different factors we need to consider when describing the existence of any language and shows why it is so difficult to provide an exact description of the distribution of sign languages.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Sociolinguistics of Sign Languages , pp. 8 - 32
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2001

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