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<DIV><SPAN class=773263710-03052003><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>I am
new to this list, but I am writing as a linguist interested in signed
languages. While it is true that British Sign Language is not based on
sounds, and while it is true that it is unrelated to (spoken) English, it
nevertheless has many of the characteristics of a language.
</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=773263710-03052003><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=773263710-03052003><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>Its
gestures can be emically analysed in the same way that phones can be
phonemically analalysed. It has units that are similar to words in that
they represent a semantic concept. Its syntax can be analyzed in a similar
way to the syntax of spoken language. Its discourse structure can be
analysed in a similar way to the discourse of a spoken language. Different
signed languages can be compared for mutual intelligibility as can spoken
languages. Signed languages relate to particular cultures, just as spoken
languages do. </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=773263710-03052003><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=773263710-03052003><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>But
above everything else, signed languages are used to communicate complex meaning,
just as spoken languages do. Therefore I have no hesitation in using
the term language in its fullest sense about signed
languages.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=773263710-03052003><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=773263710-03052003><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2>Geoffrey Hunt</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=773263710-03052003><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Tahoma
size=2>-----Original Message-----<BR><B>From:</B> For the discussion of
linguistics and signed languages. [mailto:SLLING-L@ADMIN.HUMBERC.ON.CA]<B>On
Behalf Of </B>Philocophus<BR><B>Sent:</B> Saturday, May 03, 2003 10:20
AM<BR><B>To:</B> SLLING-L@ADMIN.HUMBERC.ON.CA<BR><B>Subject:</B> Is Sign
Language a Language?<BR><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" size=2>This is my first posting here and please
accept my apologies for the extremely long length of this e-mail, as I am
unaware whether there are protocols that decree mails to be of certain
limit.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" size=2>However, here I go. Briefly, may I
introduce myself. I am not a linguist, but a Deaf historian and a publisher of
30 books on Deaf history in Britain, including "A Pictorial history of the
Evolution of the British Manual Alphabet" and a reprint of the 1698 book,
"Digiti Lingua". At present I am currently working on a project funded by the
British Government to create a higher exam course in Deaf History and one of the
most important elements in Deaf History, is of course language. In my quest to
ensure that I obtain professional confirmation that sign language is indeed and
unarguably a language, I encountered one lady, copies of whose
correspondences with me I attach here.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" size=2>I am seeking advice/opinions from your
group, perhaps you are able to confirm what she says is correct, win which case
it means sign language is NOT a language, or you can confirm that she is wrong.
I would very much like to listen to you before proceeding with my section on
language during my present project.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" size=2>Not being a linguist, but relying on
commonsense as a Deaf person myself and as a Deaf historian, I say that she is
totally wrong in her views and approach and she is twisting everything to suit
her means, but I find it difficult to argue her points in the way linguists are
qualified to.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" size=2>Thank you for your patience and kind
attention,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" size=2>Raymond Lee</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Lucida Sans" size=2><FONT face="Lucida Sans"
size=2></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
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