Introduction to BSL
Linguistics
Gary L Taylor
What is BSL Linguistics?
What is & What is not BSL?
Iconicity
Compounds
Verbs
Classifiers – SASS
Fingerspelling
Regional Sign Variations
Borrowing & Name Signs
What is BSL?
BSL is not a word for word translation in
English
BSL is a visual language which uses
handshapes, facial expression to express
meaning
It has its own Rules & Grammar
BSL has regional variations, just as
spoken English has accents and local
dialects
Fingerspelling is part of BSL
What is NOT BSL?
Cued Speech
Paget Gorman Signs
Makaton
Signed English (SE)
Signed Support English (SSE)
Language
English
Spoken
Listening
Reading
Writing
One form
Primary
One Form
Secondary
One Language
Language
BSL
Borrow English
Production
Receptive
Reading
Writing (English)
One form
Primary
One form
Secondary
One
Language
One Language
Two Language
ICONICITY (VISUAL
MOTIVATION
HIGH - transparent, show full picture that reduced in
scale of actual object or thing that is being copied in
shape e.g. TREE, DRINK
LESS - have explanation for signs but not very obvious
e.g. HOUSE, TENNIS
ARBITRARY (OR ABSTRACT) - no explanation for signs
and not very obvious i.e. no reason and unknown for
signs with no picture or link e.g. WHY, SISTER
Group work – find 5 examples each?
COMPOUNDS
2 different signs have their own meaning
that form a new sign with different
meaning
SEQUENCE - 2 signs are used one after
the other in order e.g. TENNIS, BLOOD,
PEOPLE.
SIMULTANEOUS - 2 signs are used at the
same time e.g. FAX, PARACHUTE,
PRISON.
COMPOUNDS
MINICOM
BELIEVE
PARENTS
MAINSTREAM
INTERVIEW
REMEMBER
EXPERIENCE
Group work - pick which the above are sequence or
simultaneous?
VERBS
NOUN - name of a thing or object
VERB - action
NOUN - CAR, BOOK, FOOD, BROOM
VERB – DRIVE, READ, EAT, SWEEP
CLASSIFIERS
Copy exact sign and reduce in size in
location space. Signs represent things
and objects.
Handshapes: PERSON, PEOPLE, BALL
Handling / Grasping: PRAM, WRITE, BRUSH
Group work – find 5 more examples?
FINGERSPELLING (3 GROUPS)
Fingerspelling Signs: APRIL, BRAZIL,
EDINBURGH
Fingerspelling pattern: JOB, CLUB, BUS, NEWS
Fingerspelling Initialised (first letter):
Tapped Twice (same letter) - KITCHEN
MOTHER, YELLOW
FINGERSPELLING (3 GROUPS)
Circular - CLASS, VIDEO, GREY
Movement to or from Body COMMUNICATION,
CONVERSATION
On the Body - CONFIDENT, COMFORTABLE
Group work - find 5 examples each?
REGIONAL SIGN VARIATIONS
(RSV)
Social Class
Age
Men & Woman
Ethnic group
Religion groups
Group work – Is there are Regional Sign Variation?
REGIONAL SIGN VARIATIONS
(RSV)
Numbers & Money
Colours
Clothes
Day of the week
Family
People, Man, Woman, News, Birthday
Group work – Why there are Regional Sign Variations?
Deaf School (& residential), Deaf Clubs and Deaf
Families (Generation)
Borrowing Signs
Loans into BSL from other language:
I LOVE YOU, WOW, OK, ATTITUDE
Loans Translations: ICELAND, GREENLAND
Fingerspelling Loans: CONFIDENCE,
DAUGHTER
1st letter Fingerspelling: Recommend, Proposal
Find – 5 examples of borrowing signs & fingerspelling?
Name Signs
Brand Names: Audi, Renault, Arsenal
Places: Blackpool, Paris, Sydney
Personal Names Signs: Nos.., Deaf
School, Physical Character.
Name Signs (Personal Names)
School Numbers
Physical Character - distinguishing features
Character trait - temper, obsession
Personal Information - person from other country
or specific job, hobby
Loan Translation - Kay, Mr Rice, Flora
First / Second name - Alex, Margaret, Young
Fixed names - Carpenter, Wood, Brown, Green
Group work – find 3 examples each?
Glossary of Terms
Accent
Accuracy
Adverbs
Affirmation
Ambiguities
Aspect
Auxiliaries
Aspectual Model
Basic
Buoys
Classifier
Cohesion
Colloquial(-ism)
Complex
Compound
Conditional
Glossary of Terms
Convention
Context
Dialect
Discourse Cohesion
Markers
Enumerating
Evaluate
Everyday
Expressions
Extract
Familiar
Fluency
Format
Gist
Grammar
Idiom
Glossary of Terms
Imperative
Infinitive
Intonation or prosody
Interrogative
Lexicon
Frozen
Productive
Manipulate
Modification
Modulation
Negative
Nuance
Phatic
Phrase
Positive
Presentation
Glossary of Terms
Proform
Pronoun
Pronunciation
Register
Role shift
Routine
Scan
Sentence
Setting
Simple
Simultaneity
Situation
Speed
Specifier
Structures
Style
Why is BSL Linguistics important to
teaching BSL?
2 aims:
To describe language as fully as possible
To ask why language are the way they are
Who needs to know the Linguistics of BSL?
Learners: they can learn it better and can
compare the language they know the language
they are learning
Teacher: they can explain when and why
something a learner signs is wrong and how to
sign it right