2026-09-23 02:35 UTC
It's International Day of Sign Language!
My friend Craig and I were hanging out on a Friday afternoon not long ago, when the topic of sign language came up in conversation. I will point out that neither of us know anything about sign language. Craig shared a pondering on the effectiveness of sign language across different languages. Particularly if people who speak completely different languages otherwise would be able to talk to each other using sign language because they have signs for entire words and concepts.
I told him I'd ask the hive mind on the Fediverse as I'm sure some of my followers use sign language. So, here I go...
"How effective is signing when the participants of the conversation speak totally different languages?"
Replies (1)
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@iris@neuromatch.social 2026-09-23 07:49
@dgar@aus.social as a general rule, the only overlap with the spoken languages is words you fingerspell, although other signs often incorporate first letters. The main thing will be whether the two people sign the same sign language, or closely related ones. There's a whole historical split between Protestant and Catholic schools for the Deaf that explains which sign languages across Europe are derived from the French vs the British type. American sign language is the French type, and the full story behind it is fascinating!