BSL Lesson 1 Introduction alphabet and numbers What

BSL Lesson 1 Introduction, alphabet and numbers

What is British Sign Language? Visual means of communicating using hand shapes and gestures, facial expression and body language It’s mainly used by Deaf people and people with hearing difficulties There is opposition to BSL Sign language has become more accepted over the years Around 145, 000 people within the UK use BSL.

Sign supported English Another form of sign language used in Britain It uses many of the same signs as BSL Its spoken in the same order as English and is usually accompanied by speech Not as efficient a form of communication but is useful for Deaf people to use when learning English grammar

Variation There are major variations of BSL in the UK, and is known as regional variation Many different countries have their own form of sign language: ASL (American Sign Language) Deaf (capital D)-people with significant hearing loss since birth and raised in the Deaf Community deaf (lower case d) is someone who has lost their hearing after they were born and/ or were brought up in a hearing community

Alphabet

Numbers 1 -10

What is your name? / My name is… BSL doesn’t follow the same syntax as the English grammar so to ask someone for their name you ask: ‘name you what? ’ To answer this question you reply with: ‘name me what (insert name)’ The same applies for age: ‘age you what? ’

Game time! It’s time to test your knowledge of the BSL alphabet Communication activity