LL-L: "Sign language" LOWLANDS-L, 29.JAN.2000 (05) [E]

[Lowlands-L Administrator]

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 L O W L A N D S - L * 29.JAN.2000 (05) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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 A=Afrikaans, Ap=Appalachean, D=Dutch, E=English, F=Frisian, L=Limburgish
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From: Sandy Fleming [sandy at fleimin.demon.co.uk]
Subject: LL-L: "Sign language"

> From: "Ian James Parsley" <parsley at highbury.fsnet.co.uk>
> Subject: LL-L: "Sign languages" LOWLANDS-L, 27.JAN.2000 (07) [E]
>
> Maybe there's another ISL I don't know about, but from what I
> understand,
> the BBC programme "See Hear" is the one most of them go by, and it's
> the BSL
> of that programme that is supposedly used when they meet. But
> "supposedly"
> could be a big word there, I suppose!

I wonder if Irish signers tend to be able to understand BSL because they
watch "See Hear"? This would further confuse the issue. Ireland also has
it's own Deaf magazine programme (I forget what it's called), in ISL, and
now that I think about it, I seem to remember that occasionally when See
Hear show a clip from the Irish programme they provide an interpretation
into BSL.

It occurs to me that there is an easy way of deciding which language is
being spoken, however - ISL uses one-handed fingerspelling, while BSL uses
two-handed. While fingerspelling isn't really part of the traditional
language in either case, it does tend to influence the language,
particularly in the coining of neologisms, so it might be pretty awkward to
use an unsuited fingerspeling system. I'm not sure as I've never tried
combining one-handed fingerspelling in BSL - though a few American signs
based on one-handed American fingerspelling have crept into BSL, so as usual
with languages, there are no absolutes.

Sandy
http://scotstext.org
http://www.fleimin.demon.co.uk

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