What is the alphabet in sign language?
Sign language alphabets, called fingerspelling, use hand shapes to represent each letter. American Sign Language uses one hand, while British Sign Language uses two hands for most letters.
Fingerspelling is used to spell names, places and words that do not have their own sign. It is only a small part of sign languages, which are complete languages with their own grammar and vocabulary. Most communication uses signs for whole words and ideas, combined with facial expressions and body movements.
Sign languages are not universal. American Sign Language, British Sign Language and Australian Sign Language are different languages, even though people in these countries all speak English. American Sign Language is actually related to French Sign Language, because a French teacher, Laurent Clerc, helped found the first American school for the deaf in 1817.
Learning to fingerspell
Learning the manual alphabet is a good first step for anyone interested in sign language. Many online courses and apps teach it. There are about 300 different sign languages used around the world by tens of millions of deaf and hard-of-hearing people.
Did You Know?
International Day of Sign Languages is celebrated every year on September 23.