Gestures and Sign Languages
Language Acquisition Beyond Speech
When we usually think about language acquisition, we imagine children learning to speak. Most
children naturally acquire the spoken language of their parents—such as English or Spanish—
very early in life. However, speech isn’t the only way a first language can be acquired.
Deaf children of deaf parents naturally acquire sign language as their first language. As Oliver
Sacks (1989) observed, some deaf individuals even “think” in sign language, and may make
signing movements during sleep—essentially dreaming in Sign. In American homes, deaf children
typically acquire American Sign Language (ASL), also known as Ameslan.
Despite its widespread use by a signing population of at least 500,000—and possibly up to 2
million—ASL was discouraged for a long time in educational institutions. Many teachers of the
deaf did not learn ASL and did not even consider it a real language. For many people, sign was
not “language” at all—it was seen as “merely gestures.”
Gestures vs. Sign Languages
While both gestures and sign languages involve the hands (and sometimes other parts of the
body), they are very different in nature:
• Sign Language is a full language system used instead of speaking. It has grammar,
structure, and is used in natural communication.
• Gestures usually accompany speech. For example, someone might:
• Move a hand downward when talking about doing poorly in class.
• Twist their hand while talking about opening a jar.
Types of Gestures
There are several kinds of gestures, depending on their function and relation to speech:
1. Emblems
• These are conventional gestures with fixed meanings, like:
• A “thumbs up” meaning “all is good.”
• A “shush” gesture meaning “be quiet.”
• They function like fixed phrases and don’t rely on speech.
• Emblems are culturally specific. For instance:
• A “V” sign made with index and middle fingers can mean “victory” or be an offensive
gesture in Britain, depending on the direction the palm is facing.
2. Iconics
• These gestures reflect the meaning of the speech content.
• Example: Tracing a square in the air while saying, “I’m looking for a small box.”
• Another example from McNeill (1992): A woman moved her arm like holding a weapon
while saying, “And she chased him out again,” using gesture and speech together to convey
meaning.
3. Deictics (Pointing Gestures)
• These indicate or refer to something.
• Example:
• Pointing at a cake and asking, “Would you like some cake?”
• Later, pointing at the empty plate and saying, “That cake was delicious.”
• These gestures combine with speech and rely on shared context or memory.
4. Beats
• Small, quick hand movements used to mark rhythm, emphasis, or shifts in speech.
• Unlike signs, these gestures do not convey meaning on their own but support spoken
communication.
Types of Sign Languages
Sign languages fall into two general categories:
1. Alternate Sign Languages
• These are limited systems of hand signals used by hearing speakers in situations
where speech is not possible:
• In some religious orders (e.g., Benedictine monks) during periods of silence.
• During bereavement periods in some Australian Aboriginal communities.
• In work settings, such as:
• British bookmakers at racetracks using “tic-tac” gestures.
• Commodity traders signaling prices on trading floors.
• In all these cases, the sign users also have a spoken first language.
2. Primary Sign Languages
• These are the first and main languages of communities of deaf individuals.
• Examples include:
• American Sign Language (ASL)
• British Sign Language (BSL)
• French Sign Language (LSF)
• These are not mutually intelligible:
• ASL and BSL are very different, even though both are used in English-speaking
countries.
• Interestingly, ASL is more similar to French Sign Language due to its historical roots.
The Oralism Debate and Signed English
Oralism
Until the 1960s, oralism dominated deaf education. This method focused on teaching deaf
students to:
• Produce spoken English sounds.
• Develop lip-reading skills.
Teachers believed sign language would hinder spoken language development. However, oralism
was largely ineffective:
• Fewer than 10% of students could speak intelligible English.
• Around 4% learned to lip-read effectively.
Despite oralism’s failure, ASL continued to flourish—not in classrooms, but among children
themselves. Most deaf children (90%) have hearing parents and didn’t acquire sign language at
home. Instead, they learned ASL from peers in school settings, making ASL primarily a peer-
transmitted language.
Signed English (Manually Coded English)
More recently, there has been a shift towards written English rather than spoken English. This led
to the use of Signed English, which:
• Uses signs for English words in English word order.
• Helps hearing parents communicate with deaf children.
• Aids teachers and interpreters, especially during simultaneous translation of spoken
content.
• Is often preferred by deaf people for public translations due to clarity, even though it’s
not a natural sign language like ASL.
The Origins and Nature of ASL
ASL isn’t just a “gestured version of English.” It originated from French Sign Language used at a
Paris school in the 1700s. In the 1800s, French teacher Laurent Clerc came to the U.S. with
minister Thomas Gallaudet to educate deaf children. Clerc trained American teachers and, over
time, ASL evolved—mixing French signs with indigenous American signs.
The Structure of ASL Signs
ASL uses four articulatory parameters to form signs:
1. Handshape
• Configuration of the hand and fingers.
• Example: THANK-YOU uses a “flat hand.”
2. Orientation
• Direction the palm is facing.
• THANK-YOU = “palm up” (vs. MINE = “palm facing signer”).
3. Location
• Place near the head or body where the sign is made.
• THANK-YOU starts near the mouth and moves downward.
• Some signs are only distinguished by location:
• SUMMER is above the eyes.
• UGLY is below the eyes.
4. Movement
• Direction and speed of the sign.
• THANK-YOU moves “out and downward.”
• Speed affects meaning:
• DEAD vs. DYING differ mainly by how fast the sign is made.
Each of these features can be broken into smaller units called primes, similar to phonemes in
spoken language. For example:
• “Flat hand” = shape prime.
• “Palm up” = orientation prime.
Facial Expressions and Finger-Spelling
ASL is rich in non-manual components such as:
• Facial expressions
• Eye movement
• Head movement
For example, the sign THANK-YOU is usually accompanied by a smile and nod. Facial
expressions can indicate questions or emotions.
Finger-spelling is used to spell out words, especially names or new terms.
ASL signs are mostly produced near the neck and head. Two-handed signs are often made lower
(e.g., near the chest or waist). Unlike spoken language, where speech is linear, sign languages
can combine multiple elements simultaneously in space.
To transcribe signs:
• Signed words are written in capital letters.
• Facial expressions and other non-manual signals are noted above them.
• Example:
q
ME BORROW BOOK
Here, “q” means the signer raised their eyebrows and leaned forward to indicate a question (Can
I borrow the book?).
Another example:
mm
MAN FISH [continuous]
“mm” signals a facial expression showing enjoyment. The sign translates to The man was fishing
with relaxation and enjoyment.
The Meaning of Signs
People often think ASL signs are like pictures or pantomime, but that’s a misunderstanding.
• For example, the sign for THANK-YOU may seem symbolic, but that’s just a helpful
illusion.
• Most signs are arbitrary and gain meaning within the language system—just like
spoken words.
Example:
• A common two-handed sign (with interlocked fingers rotating in front of the chest)
means AMERICA.
• People might guess it’s based on a “melting pot” or “flag stripes,” but for users of ASL,
the sign simply means America—its meaning comes from linguistic convention, not imagery.
ASL as a Natural Human Language
Linguistic research since the 1960s has shown that ASL has all the defining features of a natural
language:
• Phonology, morphology, syntax
• Creativity and play (jokes, wordplay)
• Dialectal variation
• Language change over time
• Child language acquisition stages
ASL uses SVO (Subject-Verb-Object) word order like English but places adjectives after nouns—
like French.
Children acquiring ASL as a first language go through similar developmental stages as spoken
language learners, often beginning to sign even earlier than hearing children start speaking.
Case Study: Nicaraguan Sign Language (NSL)
A powerful example of natural language emergence is NSL (Idioma de Señas de Nicaragua).
• In the 1980s, a new school opened for deaf students in Nicaragua.
• At first, it used oralism, but outside class, students began creating their own signs.
• As more children joined, the system evolved into a full language.
• By the 1990s, the school abandoned oralism and adopted NSL as the language of
instruction.
This shows how humans, especially children, are innately driven to create and acquire language
—whether spoken or signed.
