The origins of sign langauge

Sign language is complicated. There are hundreds of different variations and words can have completely different meanings depending on where you come from.
But what is even more complicated is the origins, and that is what I am going to attempt to show today.

This is a map of the main sign language families, there are 14, the same amount as spoken. 

The families are American, Arab, BANZ, Chinese, Czech, Danish, French, German, Indo-Pakistani, Japanese's, Russian, South African, Swedish and Vietnams, (more information later this week).

Groups of people have used hand signals and body movements to communicate with each over throughout history. Most sign languages developed independently, because of this no first sign language can be identified.

 However most written records of sign language seem to have started in the 17^th century but there were small deaf communities who used signs to communicate with each other. The Native Americans had been using to commutate with neighbouring tribes, this was because unlike the Europeans they believed that people that were born deaf there still mentally and physically capable which the majority of Europe did not start to believe until the late 16^th century.

Europe started to slowly accept deafness, mainly in the Ottoman Empire courts where deaf servants were seen as more trustworthy. In Britain, finger spelling began to be used for secret communication and for public speaking. This alphabet has mostly survived in Britain, Australia, South Africa, Norway and the USA. The French sign language which started to develop in the 18^th century has been kept pretty much the same in France and North America.

Most sign languages do not have linguistic similarities to the spoken language of that county. In the US, England, Australia and Canada the dominant language is English but most of American Sign Language comes from French Sign Language. In Spain and Mexico as well, some of their signs can be very different. These variations in signs can also appear within one country, almost like a dialect.

Well that’s the end of the history lesson; tomorrow will be some facts about deafness and sign language.