Learning Sign Language

The deaf community has made great strides in the years since the introduction of sign language, an important tool that gave the deaf a way to communicate without sound. Learning sign language is essential for communicating within the deaf community, and it is a source of pride for the deaf, their friends and family, and those who work with them. However, many people are unaware that there is more than one sign language, and when learning sign language the student will not automatically be able to communicate with every signer in the world. In fact, the American Sign Language, based on English, is very different even from British Sign Language, also based on English. As a result, the student needs to be sure he or she is learning the type of signing necessary for the communication he or she wishes to do.

Learning sign language is an excellent way of stimulating one’s mind as well as expanding one’s horizons. By learning to speak through your hands, you are learning a new way to communicate and a new perspective on the world. Because sign language is not correlated one to one with spoken language, it can be an interesting and stimulating experience to learn a unique way to express oneself while still “speaking” English. Beyond this, one’s deaf friends, family, and colleagues will always appreciate the effort you made to learn their language and understand just a little bit of their perspective on the world.

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