An Introduction to British Sign Language By Josephine Sesay

Brief history…….. In the UK today, there are an estimated 151,000 people who use British Sign Language (BSL) and of these, 87,000 are Deaf (data from British Deaf Association). So a little sign language can go a long way, especially when it comes to basic communication with staff or customers who are Deaf – it will improve customer service and make the work organisation more accessible to them. Such knowledge on British Sign Language will enable staff to have a basic conversation in BSL and will demonstrate that we are working towards meeting the legal requirements of the Equality Act 2010, which sets out the reasonable adjustments criteria. 16 of all the students at LSE are recorded to be described as D/deaf or hearing impaired. Such term is used because Deaf is used to describe individuals who are Deaf but use sign language, deaf is used for individuals who are hard of hearing but use English as their first language or lip read. Another key fact about BSL is that it is part of a so-called BANZSL group or British, Australian, New Zealand Sign Language group all of which were derived from the sign language used in Britain in the 19th century. This is contradictory to the misconception among the hearing people that deaf sign language is identical throughout the world. No universal sign language exists. There are even variations to the sign language used in Britain i.e. Ireland Irish ‘T’. A Deaf person from South of England may have difficulties communication with a Deaf person from Scotland or a Deaf person using BSL may not be bale to communicate with a person using ASL (American Sign Language) because it is not part of the BANZSL group. There has been a major progress in the development and establishment of BSL as a language in the 19th century but most deaf individuals learned the sign language unofficially rather than in schools. In addition, the early 20th century saw the rise of opposition to the sign language that persisted all the way to the 1970s. Deaf children were discouraged and even punished for signing and forced to learn finger spelling and lip-reading. The negative attitude towards BSL changed only when it became clear that such approach is not showing satisfactory results and rise of the awareness that BSL is much more than just a collection of gestures and pantomime. Despite that, it was not until March 2003 when BSL was finally recognised as an official minority language in the United Kingdom.

Objectives for today….. Finger- spelling - Vowels go across the top of your fingers - you tap your thumb for A and your index finger for E, middle finger for I, finger near your little finger for O and little finger for U. - BSL users have adapted fingerspelling in various ways. It is used most often for the English names of people, places, titles. Numbers - 1 – 20 – after twenty sign changes to two digits. Different sign for 100 and 1000. Everyday words – Thank You, Please, What, Name, Hello, How are you, Good, When, Where, How, Which, Who. Quiz - Winner gets a prize!!!! 

Finger Spelling….

Numbers……

Everyday words….. GOOD, GREAT, HELLO, HOW ARE YOU Closed hand with thumb extended and up, makes small firm forward movement. NOTES: this sign is also a common greeting sign in the Deaf community. VARIATIONS: open hand palm forward, pointing up, twists at the wrist, closing to thumb up palm left. Both hands can be used for extra emphasis. Non-manual features of raised eyebrows can change to question form as in ALL RIGHT? OK? PLEASE, IF YOU PLEASE, THANK YOU   Fingertips of flat hand contact the chin, then hand moves forward/down as fingers close onto the palm. Can be made without the final closing movement, also meaning THANKS, THANK YOU.

Everyday words continued….. WHAT? WHAT FOR?   The index finger is extended and held palm facing forward at shoulder height, shaking in short quick side-to-side movements. Appropriate non-manual features for question form are used. NAME, TO BE CALLED   Tips of extended fingers of ‘N’ hand contact side of forehead, then the hand moves and twists forward/down. VARIATION: Closed hands with index and middle fingers extended and open are held with palms facing each other, then move apart slightly as the fingers flex. This version also means CALLED, TITLE, TOPIC. NOTES: It is common in Deaf culture to give people "name signs" based on some feature or characteristic.

What, When, How, Who, Where……

Local BSL centres http://www.remarktraining.co.uk/ - on Leather Lane after Chancery Lane Tube Station http://www.citylit.ac.uk/courses/specialist-learning/centre-for-deaf- education - in Covent Garden

QUIZ TIME!!!!!! Who will get the price???? 