British Sign Language :~)

2006_Calendar_Dec_by_tiredbees.jpeg 2006_Calendar_Nov_by_tiredbees.jpeg 2006_Calendar_Aug_by_tiredbees.jpeg 2006_Calendar_Oct_by_tiredbees.jpeg 2006_Calendar_Sep_by_tiredbees.jpeg 2006_Calendar_Jun_by_tiredbees.jpeg Bsl.png header.jpg sign.gif 2006_Calendar_May_by_tiredbees.jpeg 2006_Calendar_Jul_by_tiredbees.jpeg 2006_Calendar_Apr_by_tiredbees.jpeg British Sign Language (BSL) is the sign language used in the United Kingdom (UK), and is the first or preferred language of deaf people in the UK; published estimates range from 30,000 to 70,000. The language makes use of space and involves movement of the hands, body, face and head. Many thousands of people who are not Deaf also use BSL, as hearing relatives of Deaf people, sign language interpreters or as a result of other contact with the British Deaf community. 2006_Calendar_Mar_by_tiredbees.jpeg 2006_Calendar_Feb_by_tiredbees.jpeg 2006_Calendar_Jan_by_tiredbees.jpeg Although the United Kingdom and the United States share English as the predominant spoken language, British Sign Language is quite distinct from American Sign Language (ASL). BSL fingerspelling is also different from ASL, as it uses two hands whereas ASL uses one. BSL is also distinct from Irish Sign Language (ISL) (ISG in the ISO system) which is more closely related to French Sign Language (LSF) and ASL. It is also distinct from Signed English, a manually coded method expressed to represent the English language. The sign languages used in Australia and New Zealand, Auslan and New Zealand Sign Language, respectively, evolved largely from 19th Century BSL, and all retain the same manual alphabet, grammar, and similar lexicon. BSL, Auslan and NZSL together may be called BANZSL. Makaton, a communication system for people with cognitive impairments or other communication difficulties, was originally developed with signs borrowed from British Sign Language. The sign language used in Sri Lanka is also closely related to BSL despite the spoken language not being English, demonstrating the distance between sign languages and spoken ones. BSL users campaigned to have BSL recognised on a similar level to Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, and Irish. BSL was recognised as a language in its own right by the UK government on 18 March 2003, but it has no legal protection, so therefore is not an official language of the United Kingdom. British Sign Language Relationships with other sign languages Sign language, deaf