What you should know about sign languages

In this section, we have gathered a bunch of facts about sign languages. Sign languages are neither international nor artificial languages, as for example Esperanto is. Every country has its own naturally developed sign language. Moreover, dialect variation is often found in sign languages. The different sign languages all employ a distinct vocabulary and different grammatical structures.

As sign languages are the natural languages of deaf people, who almost always represent a minority in society, sign languages have a special cultural function. Sign languages make rich and vivid communication possible exactly like spoken languages do.

Of particular importance is moreover the so-called simultaneity, which is the possibility to use different articulators like the hands, upper body, head and face to convey different pieces information all at once. This simultaneity compensates the fact that it typically takes more time to produce a sign than to utter a word. The time difference is thus compensated on the sentence level.

Sign languages are essential for deaf children to acquire language! Acquiring a sign language as a first language promotes the acquisition of second languages such as written German and enables access to other areas of knowledge at a high level. A bimodal bilingual education and school support is therefore the best possible basis for optimal achievements and future opportunities for deaf children.

Sign languages are fascinating languages in a different modality. Sign language courses with deaf teachers are an enriching experience in every respect. Sign languages allow us to gain insight into the cognitive system of humans in general and give us access to a rich culture and form of communication.

For further insights into sign languages with a focus on DGS, we recommend the bimodal book “100 Fragen und Antworten rund um die Deutsche Gebärdensprache (DGS)” by Thomas Finkbeiner, Nina-Kristin Meister and Liona Paulus. The book is written in easy-to-understand written German, and the entire content of the book is available in DGS via QR codes and internet links. All content is supplemented by numerous sign language examples in the form of photos and videos. For barrier-free accessibility, all DGS example videos are subtitled. Further information and a reading sample are available here.