International Sign
Encyclopedia
International Sign (also Gestuno, International Sign Language (ISL), International Sign Pidgin and International Gesture (IG)) is an international auxiliary language
sometimes used at international meetings such as the World Federation of the Deaf
(WFD) congress, events such as the Deaflympics
, and informally when travelling and socialising. It can be seen as a kind of pidgin
sign language
, which is not as conventionalised or complex as natural sign language
s and has a limited lexicon
.
developed as the delegates from different language backgrounds communicated with each other, and in 1973, a WFD committee ("the Commission of Unification of Signs") published a standardized vocabulary. They selected "naturally spontaneous and easy signs in common use by deaf people of different countries" to make the language easy to learn. A book published by the commission in the early 1970s, Gestuno: International Sign Language of the Deaf, contains a vocabulary list of about 1500 signs. The name "Gestuno" was chosen, referencing gesture and oneness.
However, when Gestuno was first used, at the WFD congress
in Bulgaria in 1976, it was incomprehensible to deaf participants. Subsequently, it was developed informally by deaf and hearing interpreters, and came to include more grammar — especially linguistic features that are thought to be universal among sign languages, such as role shifting and the use of classifiers. Additionally, the vocabulary was gradually replaced by more iconic
signs and loan signs
from different sign languages.
The name Gestuno has fallen out of use, and the phrase "International Sign" is now more commonly used in English to identify this sign variety. Indeed, current IS has little in common with the signs published under the name 'Gestuno'.
A parallel development has been occurring in Europe in recent years, where increasing interaction between deaf communities has led to the emergence of a pan-European pidgin or creole
sign.
and is less comprehensible to those from African or Asian sign language backgrounds. A 1999 study by Bencie Woll suggested that IS signers often use a large amount of vocabulary from their native language, choosing sign variants that would be more easily understood by a foreigner. In contrast, Rachel Rosenstock notes that the vocabulary exhibited in her study of International Sign was largely made up of highly iconic signs common to many sign languages:
of classifier
s. Classifiers are used to describe things, and they transfer well across linguistic barriers. It has been noted that signers are generally better at interlingual communication than non-signers, even without a lingua franca
. Perhaps, along with deaf people's experience with bridging communication barriers, the use of classifiers is a key reason.
A paper presented in 1994 suggested that IS signers "combine a relatively rich and structured grammar with a severely impoverished lexicon". Supalla and Webb (1995) describe IS as a kind of a pidgin, but conclude that it is "more complex than a typical pidgin and indeed is more like that of a full sign language".
names, which is based on the one-handed systems used in Europe and America for representing the Roman alphabet. In a two-way conversation, any manual alphabet known may be used; often one speaker will fingerspell using the alphabet of the other party, as it is often easier to spell quickly in an unfamiliar alphabet than to read quickly. ISL also has a standardised system of numbers as these signs vary greatly between sign languages.
International auxiliary language
An international auxiliary language or interlanguage is a language meant for communication between people from different nations who do not share a common native language...
sometimes used at international meetings such as the World Federation of the Deaf
World Federation of the Deaf
The World Federation of the Deaf is an international non-governmental organization that acts as a peak body for national associations of Deaf people, with a focus on Deaf people who use sign language and their family and friends...
(WFD) congress, events such as the Deaflympics
Deaflympics
The Deaflympics are an International Olympic Committee -sanctioned event at which deaf athletes compete at an elite level...
, and informally when travelling and socialising. It can be seen as a kind of pidgin
Pidgin
A pidgin , or pidgin language, is a simplified language that develops as a means of communication between two or more groups that do not have a language in common. It is most commonly employed in situations such as trade, or where both groups speak languages different from the language of the...
sign language
Sign language
A sign language is a language which, instead of acoustically conveyed sound patterns, uses visually transmitted sign patterns to convey meaning—simultaneously combining hand shapes, orientation and movement of the hands, arms or body, and facial expressions to fluidly express a speaker's...
, which is not as conventionalised or complex as natural sign language
Sign language
A sign language is a language which, instead of acoustically conveyed sound patterns, uses visually transmitted sign patterns to convey meaning—simultaneously combining hand shapes, orientation and movement of the hands, arms or body, and facial expressions to fluidly express a speaker's...
s and has a limited lexicon
Lexicon
In linguistics, the lexicon of a language is its vocabulary, including its words and expressions. A lexicon is also a synonym of the word thesaurus. More formally, it is a language's inventory of lexemes. Coined in English 1603, the word "lexicon" derives from the Greek "λεξικόν" , neut...
.
History
Deaf people have used a kind of auxiliary gestural system for international communication at sporting or cultural events since the early 19th century. The need to standardise an international sign system was discussed at the first World Deaf Congress in 1951, when the WFD was formed. In the following years, a pidginPidgin
A pidgin , or pidgin language, is a simplified language that develops as a means of communication between two or more groups that do not have a language in common. It is most commonly employed in situations such as trade, or where both groups speak languages different from the language of the...
developed as the delegates from different language backgrounds communicated with each other, and in 1973, a WFD committee ("the Commission of Unification of Signs") published a standardized vocabulary. They selected "naturally spontaneous and easy signs in common use by deaf people of different countries" to make the language easy to learn. A book published by the commission in the early 1970s, Gestuno: International Sign Language of the Deaf, contains a vocabulary list of about 1500 signs. The name "Gestuno" was chosen, referencing gesture and oneness.
However, when Gestuno was first used, at the WFD congress
World Federation of the Deaf
The World Federation of the Deaf is an international non-governmental organization that acts as a peak body for national associations of Deaf people, with a focus on Deaf people who use sign language and their family and friends...
in Bulgaria in 1976, it was incomprehensible to deaf participants. Subsequently, it was developed informally by deaf and hearing interpreters, and came to include more grammar — especially linguistic features that are thought to be universal among sign languages, such as role shifting and the use of classifiers. Additionally, the vocabulary was gradually replaced by more iconic
Iconicity
In functional-cognitive linguistics, as well as in semiotics, iconicity is the conceived similarity or analogy between the form of a sign and its meaning, as opposed to arbitrariness.Iconic principles:...
signs and loan signs
Loanword
A loanword is a word borrowed from a donor language and incorporated into a recipient language. By contrast, a calque or loan translation is a related concept where the meaning or idiom is borrowed rather than the lexical item itself. The word loanword is itself a calque of the German Lehnwort,...
from different sign languages.
The name Gestuno has fallen out of use, and the phrase "International Sign" is now more commonly used in English to identify this sign variety. Indeed, current IS has little in common with the signs published under the name 'Gestuno'.
A parallel development has been occurring in Europe in recent years, where increasing interaction between deaf communities has led to the emergence of a pan-European pidgin or creole
Creole language
A creole language, or simply a creole, is a stable natural language developed from the mixing of parent languages; creoles differ from pidgins in that they have been nativized by children as their primary language, making them have features of natural languages that are normally missing from...
sign.
Vocabulary
The lexicon of International Sign is limited, and varies between signers. IS interpreter Bill Moody noted in a 1994 paper that the vocabulary used in conference settings is largely derived from the sign languages of the Western worldWestern world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
and is less comprehensible to those from African or Asian sign language backgrounds. A 1999 study by Bencie Woll suggested that IS signers often use a large amount of vocabulary from their native language, choosing sign variants that would be more easily understood by a foreigner. In contrast, Rachel Rosenstock notes that the vocabulary exhibited in her study of International Sign was largely made up of highly iconic signs common to many sign languages:
"[O]ver 60% of the signs occurred in the same form in more than eight SLs as well as in IS. This suggests that the majority of IS signs are not signs borrowed from a specific SL, as other studies found, but rather are common to many natural SLs. Only 2% of IS signs were found to be unique to IS. The remaining 38% were borrowed (or "loan") signs that could be traced back to one SL or a group of related SLs."
Grammar
People communicating in International Sign tend to make heavy use of role play, as well as a feature common to most signed languages researched to date: an extensive formal systemFormal system
In formal logic, a formal system consists of a formal language and a set of inference rules, used to derive an expression from one or more other premises that are antecedently supposed or derived . The axioms and rules may be called a deductive apparatus...
of classifier
Classifier (linguistics)
A classifier, in linguistics, sometimes called a measure word, is a word or morpheme used in some languages to classify the referent of a countable noun according to its meaning. In languages that have classifiers, they are often used when the noun is being counted or specified...
s. Classifiers are used to describe things, and they transfer well across linguistic barriers. It has been noted that signers are generally better at interlingual communication than non-signers, even without a lingua franca
Lingua franca
A lingua franca is a language systematically used to make communication possible between people not sharing a mother tongue, in particular when it is a third language, distinct from both mother tongues.-Characteristics:"Lingua franca" is a functionally defined term, independent of the linguistic...
. Perhaps, along with deaf people's experience with bridging communication barriers, the use of classifiers is a key reason.
A paper presented in 1994 suggested that IS signers "combine a relatively rich and structured grammar with a severely impoverished lexicon". Supalla and Webb (1995) describe IS as a kind of a pidgin, but conclude that it is "more complex than a typical pidgin and indeed is more like that of a full sign language".
Letters and numbers
A manual alphabet is used for fingerspellingFingerspelling
Fingerspelling is the representation of the letters of a writing system, and sometimes numeral systems, using only the hands. These manual alphabets , have often been used in deaf education, and have subsequently been adopted as a distinct part of a number of sign languages around the world...
names, which is based on the one-handed systems used in Europe and America for representing the Roman alphabet. In a two-way conversation, any manual alphabet known may be used; often one speaker will fingerspell using the alphabet of the other party, as it is often easier to spell quickly in an unfamiliar alphabet than to read quickly. ISL also has a standardised system of numbers as these signs vary greatly between sign languages.
Use of indigenous signs
Each region's own sign is preferred for country and city names. This may be used in conjunction with spelling and classifying for the first instance, and the indigenous sign used alone from then on.Examples of International Sign
- WFD homepage — contains a short QuickTimeQuickTimeQuickTime is an extensible proprietary multimedia framework developed by Apple Inc., capable of handling various formats of digital video, picture, sound, panoramic images, and interactivity. The classic version of QuickTime is available for Windows XP and later, as well as Mac OS X Leopard and...
video in ISL with English subtitles. - Digital version of Gestuno: International Sign Language of the Deaf / Langage Gestuel International des Sourds — Contains original ISL signs (many now outdated) in photograph form
See also
- Signuno
- Lingua francaLingua francaA lingua franca is a language systematically used to make communication possible between people not sharing a mother tongue, in particular when it is a third language, distinct from both mother tongues.-Characteristics:"Lingua franca" is a functionally defined term, independent of the linguistic...
- List of sign languages
- Sign languageSign languageA sign language is a language which, instead of acoustically conveyed sound patterns, uses visually transmitted sign patterns to convey meaning—simultaneously combining hand shapes, orientation and movement of the hands, arms or body, and facial expressions to fluidly express a speaker's...
- World Federation of the DeafWorld Federation of the DeafThe World Federation of the Deaf is an international non-governmental organization that acts as a peak body for national associations of Deaf people, with a focus on Deaf people who use sign language and their family and friends...