Sign language translations? ASL vs. SSL

OAKLAND, Calif. - Sept. 15, 2014 - PRLog -- Many people think of sign language as ONE foreign language. International Contact, Inc. often receives requests for interpretation for the hearing-impaired and clients seem surprised when we ask, “In what language?” Sign languages are visual-gestural languages, while spoken languages are auditory-vocal languages. Sign languages have supposedly existed as long as spoken languages. No one has invented them but they have arisen spontaneously through time by unrestricted interactions among people who use them as a primary communication system.


There are about 70 million deaf people who use sign language as their first language or mother tongue. Each country has one or more sign languages, although different sign languages can share the same linguistic roots in the same way as spoken languages do. There are no universal signs; even within the same spoken language, the signs are different. For example, SSL is the sign language used throughout Spain, except for Catalonia and Valencia, which have their own signs. Although SSL is understood by some Spanish speakers, each Latin American country has developed their own sign language. For example, Mexican Sign Language, Columbian Sign Language and Venezuelan Sign Language are quite different.

French Sign Language (LSF) shows a similar multiplicity of versions and they are not necessarily intelligible with each other. American Sign Language (ASL) is used to sign to English speakers and has derived a few signs from LSF. ASL is separate and distinct from English. It its own rules for pronunciation, word order, and grammar. Signaling a function, such as asking a question rather than making a statement, sign language differs in how this is done. English speakers ask a question by raising the pitch of their voice while ASL users ask a question by raising the eyebrows, widening the eyes, and tilting the bodies forward.

The status of sign language varies in each country, therefore, the legislators and governments understand the roles of sign languages in different ways. In some countries the rights of the hearing-impaired to education and equal participation in the society are secured by legislation.