Language isn't what it used to be (British Sign Language - that is)
24 Apr 2014 11:51 AM
Awareness about the changing use of language
isn't just limited to speakers of English, who may lament the loss of old
words and the inclusion of new words like 'selfie' in the Oxford
English Dictionary. Users of British Sign Language (BSL) are being faced with
unprecedented change in their language, with some loss of regional variations
in signs, and a gap between the older and younger generations
emerging
British Sign Language is a rich, naturally evolving
language, where the signs you use can vary according to where you live and
where you went to school. Just like in English, where you may call a bread roll
a 'bap', 'barm' or 'cob', partly depending on where you
grew up, the vocabulary of BSL can differ depending on your region. However in
the first major study of how BSL is evolving, now published in the journal PLoS
ONE, researchers have found that although local dialects still exist, these
variations are in decline.
The
researchers, based at the ESRC-funded Deafness Cognition and Language Research
Centre (DCAL) at University College London, including Adam Schembri now at La
Trobe University in Australia, filmed almost 250 deaf people using BSL from
eight cities across the UK to document how the language is used and how it is
changing.
They found that a shift is taking place in the signs
used by different generations, as younger people abandon the traditional
regional signs that are still in use by older signers.
They examined regional variants for three different
groups of concepts: those for numbers, colours and countries. These groups of
signs showed a high level of variation: for example, the colour purple has 22
different signs. However, the study showed that the use of traditional variants
is changing, with signs for countries changing at the fastest
rate.
"Our research has confirmed that BSL variation is
changing," explains lead researcher Dr Kearsy Cormier. "Some regional
signs appear to be in decline, as younger people are using them less. Some sign
variants are more widely used than others, while some are rarely used at
all."
One
reason that this variation may be in decline is because of the different way
deaf children have learned BSL over the generations.
"In the past, different varieties of BSL developed
separately in the schools for deaf children that used to exist across the
country. Schools were the basis of communities of deaf people, just like
villages used to be the basis of communities of hearing people," says Dr
Cormier.
"The recent closure of deaf schools may have
contributed to the reduction in BSL variation, as deaf children are now more
dispersed and are more typically mainstreamed alongside children who are not
deaf. So they have a very different experience of signing in school compared to
deaf children 50 years ago."
Television, telecommunications and the internet may also
be playing their part, just as they have done with the English language. As the
use of sign language in television programmes and on the internet has
increased, deaf people have been exposed to signs in wider use, possibly
leading to a loss of local dialects.
It
may also have to do with the fact that technological advances are allowing deaf
people to move around the country and the world more, meaning that they are
exposed to signs from different regions in the UK, and from different sign
languages around the world. The study found for example that although there are
a number of BSL signs for the USA, most young signers were adopting the
American Sign Language sign for the USA.
Whatever the reason, it is clear that British Sign
Language is undergoing rapid changes, and some amongst the deaf community may
be concerned about the loss of their traditional signs.
"Quite a lot of deaf people are proud of their
regional variations, and would see it as a shame if they were lost. However,
the data we have collected will be recorded for long term preservation so these
signs are not forgotten," concludes Dr Cormier.
For
further information and to arrange and interview contact:
ESRC Press Office:
Notes for editors
- This release is based on the findings from ‘The
British Sign Language Corpus Project (2008-2011) funded by the Economic and
Social Research Council and carried out by the Deafness Cognition and Language
(DCAL) Research Centre at University College London.
- Deafness Cognition and Language
(DCAL) Research Centre is based at University College London. DCAL is
a world-renowned centre of excellence for research on BSL. The centre brings
together leading Deaf and hearing researchers in the fields of sign
linguistics, psychology, and neuroscience. DCAL is funded by the Economic and
Social Research Council (ESRC).
- The British Sign Language Corpus
Project (2008-2011), funded by the Economic and Social Research
Council (ESRC), aimed to record examples of BSL used by Deaf people and to
store this information in a collection (“corpus”) that is made
publicly accessible on-line, and also to carry out research using this
collection into BSL grammar and vocabulary, variation in BSL across the country
and how BSL is changing. This data was collected to have a permanent and secure
record of BSL, as the language is used today by fluent signers across the UK.
We know that the language is changing rapidly due to changes in the Deaf
community, so it is important that we have a record for the future. Having a
BSL Corpus is also useful for several other reasons: it will directly lead to
an improved understanding of BSL structure and use. This information is
important for the education of Deaf children, for training sign language
interpreters, and for BSL teachers.
- The
Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funds research into the big social
and economic questions facing us today. We also develop and train the
UK’s future social scientists. Our research informs public policies and
helps make businesses, voluntary bodies and other organisations more effective.
Most importantly, it makes a real difference to all our lives. The ESRC is an
independent organisation, established by Royal Charter in 1965, and funded
mainly by the Government.
- The
ESRC confirms the quality of its funded research by evaluating research
projects through a process of peers review.