Who uses British Sign Language?
It is estimated that up to 70,000 individuals use British Sign Language as their first language. Clearly however, use of British Sign Language is not confined to this community of people. It is also used by families, friends and colleagues of deaf individuals and also, professionals such as British Sign Language interpreters and teachers. Fact Three: How does British Sign Language differ from spoken language? As mentioned above, British Sign Language makes use of visual channels, whilst spoken language makes use of auditory channels. The differences do not stop here however. Speed is also a key differentiating factor and as such, words in the spoken mode can be produced twice as quickly as signs. Even though this is the case, this does not make the communicating of British Sign Language any slower than spoken language; the reason being that the eyes can perceive multiple signals therefore, the signs maybe combined with other movements of the face, head and body. Fact Four: Is British S
