For those unfamiliar with sign language, it can be easy to assume every word in spoken language has a direct sign equivalent. However, sign languages, including British Sign Language (BSL), operate differently from spoken languages.
Rather than having a one-to-one correspondence with spoken words, sign languages are full, rich languages with their own grammar, structure and ways of expressing meaning.
BSL as a visual language
Sign languages are fundamentally visual. Unlike spoken languages, which rely on sound, sign languages use hand shapes, facial expressions, body movements and spatial awareness to convey meaning.
Their visual nature means sign languages don’t map directly into spoken languages in a word-for-word manner. Instead, concepts, ideas and emotions are conveyed holistically through a combination of signs and visual cues.
Take, for example, a simple English sentence: ‘I’m going to the shop’. In BSL, this sentence wouldn’t be signed as individual words like ‘I’, ‘am’, ‘going’ and ‘to’. Instead, a BSL user might sign something like ‘Me shop go’, relying on facial expressions and movement to add nuance, such as the timeframe or urgency. This isn’t a literal translation but rather an expression of the same idea using the structure and rules of BSL.
BSL grammar and structure
Sign languages have their own grammar, which doesn’t follow the same rules as spoken languages. For example, in English, word order is important. We say, ‘The dog chased the cat’, not ‘The cat was chased by the dog’, because the meaning changes based on the order of the words.
In BSL, however, the word order is much more flexible, and meaning is often conveyed through the use of space, facial expressions and body movement.
Sign languages also make use of classifiers – handshapes that represent certain categories of objects, people, or actions. These classifiers can replace a lot of specific words.
For example, instead of having a different sign for ‘car’, ‘bus’, and ‘motorcycle’, a signer might use a vehicle classifier and modify the movement or shape of their hands to indicate the type of vehicle they mean.
What is BSL fingerspelling?
What happens when there’s no specific sign for a word? This is where fingerspelling comes in.
In BSL and many other sign languages, the alphabet is signed letter by letter using a method called fingerspelling. This allows signers to spell out words that don’t have a standard sign, like brand names, places or acronyms.
Fingerspelling is also used for words that have no natural sign equivalent, particularly for new or borrowed words that have come into usage more recently. However, it’s not a fallback for every situation—most signers prefer to use natural signs and visual concepts wherever possible, reserving fingerspelling for specific circumstances.
Embracing the differences between spoken language and sign language
Understanding that sign languages don’t have a one-to-one match with spoken language vocabulary helps us appreciate their unique strengths.
Sign languages are dynamic, expressive and often more flexible than spoken languages when it comes to conveying complex ideas quickly. They allow users to communicate effectively, even without a direct sign for every spoken word, by relying on a range of visual and contextual tools that make up for this difference.
Sign languages like BSL are not about translating spoken words – they’re about communicating ideas, concepts and emotions in a way that’s visually rich and naturally suited to the Deaf community.
So, while there may not be a sign for every word we use in spoken language, that’s what makes sign languages so distinct. They offer a unique, visual way of thinking and communicating that goes beyond the need for a direct word-for-word translation.
How can Sign Solutions help?
Learning BSL, even if it’s just the basic signs, can significantly improve your communication skills and enable you to communicate with Deaf or hard of hearing people in their own language. It can help your business or organisation break down communication barriers, build relationships and create a more inclusive society.
So, if you’re interested upskilling your team with BSL training, we offer bespoke BSL courses in levels one to three for groups of interested learners. We don’t provide single-person BSL courses. We work hard to tailor all our courses to suit your organisation’s needs, from the content delivered to class size and location.
Our offices in the heart of the Midlands mean we’re ideally located to provide our award-winning training services anywhere in the country. Alternatively, we can offer remote sessions via any video platform of your choice. Our bespoke BSL courses include:
- Introduction to BSL – Level 1 Award – Unit 101
- Level 1 Award in British Sign Language
- Level 2 Certificate in British Sign Language
- Level 3 Certificate in British Sign Language
Please contact training@signsolutions.uk.com for more information, or fill out the form below to contact a member of our team.
