Sign Language: The Study of Deaf People and their Language

This book provides a study of the communication and culture of deaf people, particularly among a community of the deaf in Britain. The authors' goal is to inform educators, psychologists, linguists, and professionals working with deaf people about the rich language the deaf have developed for themselves--a language of movement and space, of the hands and the eyes, of abstract communication as well as iconic story-telling. Early chapters discuss the history of sign language use, its social aspects and the issues surrounding the language acquisition of deaf children. The book's core examines the linguistic and psychological study of British Sign Language and compares and contrasts it with other signed languages. The book concludes with an examination of the applications of sign language research, particularly to education.