Sign Language

1. British Sign Language and American Sign Language are

• essentially the same, but with minor differences

• very different

• identical

• different, but mutually intelligible

Answer explanation

American Sign Language (ASL), also used in much of Canada, is heavily influenced by French Sign Language.

British Sign Language (BSL) is similar to Australian Sign Language.

2. Fingerspelling (spelling out words letter by letter) is a useful skill, but is a poor substitute for a knowledge of sign language because:

• it is slower to communicate letter by letter

• fingerspelling does not include grammar rules

•  it is very difficult to communicate emotion through fingerspelling alone

• all of these

  
  

Answer explanation

Sign language uses hand movements, facial expressions, and body language to communicate. Fingerspelling is not a language of its own and does not have grammatical structures and syntaxes.

3. In American Sign Language, fingerspelling requires the use of two hands.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

In ASL, fingerspelling requires only one hand.

In BSL, letters are formed using both hands.

4. Sign language can be defined as communication using only the hands.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

Sign languages convey meaning through the positioning and expression of various parts of the body, including facial expressions, lip patterns and upper body and head movement.

5. Some in the Deaf community use a sign language as their first language. Some educators believe that it is very important to learn a spoken language. What is this belief called?

• oralism

• vocalism

• anti-signism

• auralism

Answer explanation

Pressure to integrate deaf children into mainstream schooling can lead to an effectively oralist approach

6. Sign languages are not 'simple' and can convey complex ideas as effectively as spoken languages.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

Poetry is written in sign languages, and jokes are told all the time!

7. British Sign Language has a sign for every common word in British English, and shares the same grammar.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

The grammar of BSL (and also of ASL) are very different to those of spoken English.

8. Despite the availability of different sign languages, an international sign language was developed. Like all 'invented' languages, it has proved ….

• Popular

• Unpopular

Answer explanation

Regional 'accents' in sign language tend to be strong, and an international sign language (though useful) did not gain mass acceptance.

9. What means of communication did deaf students in Nicaragua rely on before the establishment of formal sign language? 2 answers are correct

• Lipreading

• 1. Written Spanish

• Sign Language

• Spoken Spanish

Answer explanation

Before this school opened in the 1980s, there was no formal sign language taught. Just lipreading and spoken Spanish.

10. What type of language did the Nicaraguan children initially develop?

• Spoken Language

• Written Language

• Signed Pidgin

• Mime Language

Answer explanation

The students didn’t share a sign language, but they started trying to communicate. So, they developed a signed pidgin.