How To Write a Sign Language, Part 5: Useful or Useless?

 How To Write a Sign Language
Part 5: Useful or Useless?


 Whether you are new to sign languages or a native signer who has signed your entire life - you probably haven't heard about sign language writing systems. Spoken languages around the world have writing systems so surely sign languages can too? Well, many have been tried and used in brief corners of the world but none have been widely adopted by Deaf communities.

 I recommend these resources if you want to learn more about all of those attempts and their histories:
 But in this mini-series of posts I want to explain the different types there are so that you, intrepid future sign language writer, may better understand the options and pick which to learn or make.

 In the last part I talked about history, grammar and gloss - where I went over the historical recognition of sign languages and many of the unique aspects of sign language. In this part I want to go over a question which is at the heart of this debate, should sign languages be written?

Part 5: Useful or Useless? <= You are here                  

The Issue

Often when I talk about sign language writing, people say some variation of the following:

"Sign languages shouldn't be written."

"Sign languages can't be written because they are visual and use the face too!"

"Writing is not a part of Deaf culture."

"I don't need sign language writing, I can just record myself signing instead!"

"I don't need sign language writing, I can just use English!" 
 
 I have thought back and forth about what the best way to present this part would be. Perhaps an argument from both sides? Perhaps a history of writing showing how many people felt the same way about spoken languages when writing them was first becoming popular.

 Ultimately though I think it writing is a tool, and we use tools to solve problems. So the best way to demonstrate is to present the uses of writing as a tool.

 So I want you to imagine some hypothetical scenarios. In them I am a Deaf person and either my first and preferred language is a sign language. Also in these hypotheticals sign language writing is in an "in-between" state. Some people have adopted it, others haven't. This is not a utopia, just a version of our modern world with sign language writing known by a decent number of people in the Deaf community.

 I will be referring to "English" and "sign language" throughout this. By "English" I mean any spoken language - though I primarily mean English as I assume most readers are from the anglosphere, and by "sign language" I mean the sign language of any country such as ASL, BSL etc.

Use 1: Writing Notes for Later

 I want to write down a note for myself for later. Perhaps it is a shopping list, to-do list or "don't forget to..." note.
  1. I could use English (or the spoken language of wherever I live) - but I'm not the most confident English user. The thought is also in sign language, and I have to translate out of sign into English in order to write it, and later translate it back into sign to read it.
  2. I could use simple or broken English - this could be fine for something simple, but what if the note has complicated instructions?
  3. I could use Gloss - at least this keeps the thought in sign, but this often sacrifices clarity.
  4. I could record a video note for myself - but now I have one or more video files I have to watch again later to remember my note.
  5. I could write in sign language - and remind myself exactly what I was thinking / what was signed.
 This is based on my real life experiences in training and a workplace. I have found writing notes like this to be very useful.
Shopping List (BSL, written with Icoglyphs)
Notepad Table Decoration - Free photo on Pixabay

Use 2: Writing Notes and Posters For Others

 Lets say I work or volunteer in a Deaf school or Deaf Club. I want to write a note, or make a poster, to be posted up for others to read. I know that not all the people in the deaf club are fluent in English.
  1. I could write in English - but many here won't be fluent in English.
  2. I could write in simple or broken Engish - but this would only be marginally better.
  3. I could write it in Gloss - this could sacrifice clarity.
  4. I could write in sign language - this might make easier for those fluent in sign to read out the messages without having to translate.
 This assumes, of course, that many people have been taught how to read the writing. In this case probably a bilingual sign in both English and sign language would be ideal!
Poster/Notice (BSL, written with SLwrite)

Use 3: Sending Messages

 Lets say I wanted to send a message to my Deaf friend. A text, instant message or an email. I know that my friend is also not confident in English. 
  1. I could write it in English - but neither myself nor my Deaf friend are fully comfortable in English. There is a lot of room for misunderstandings.
  2. I could try to write it in simple or broken English - better but what if the message I need to send is complicated instructions?
  3. I could try to write it in Gloss - same as above but could sacrifice quality.
  4. I could record a video message and send that - ideal, but requires a strong internet connection, along with time to set up a camera and record the message.
  5. I could write in sign language - this would be perfect! Easy for me and easy for my friend to understand!
Texting (ASL, written with SLDWS) 
Thank you to Nulpoints for providing the text for these texts :)

Use 4: Important Transcriptions (e.g. Evidence)

 I am in a situation where I need to know EXACTLY what was signed by a Deaf person. Perhaps a last will and testament. Perhaps a court room with a Deaf witness or defendant. Perhaps a meeting at a Deaf organisation. I know that I will need this as evidence for later.
  1. I could record the person in question - that's fine, advisable in fact, but not very easy to pull parts from as quotes.
  2. I could translate it into English via an Interpreter and write down the English - the Deaf person may have said something that was misinterpreted. That's not good.
  3. I could write it in gloss - again this is going to lack clarity and if I need to quote it later, other people might think that the Deaf person is unintelligent and thus unreliable.
  4. I could write it in sign language - this would be perfect for transcribing exactly what was said in a way that can be quoted later.  
Court Transcript (really it's Jack and Jill) (Classifiers / VV - written with Sutton Signwriting
Munich Architecture Court Of - Free photo on Pixabay

Use 5: Writing A Long Text

 Let's say I wanted get a long form idea I have out of my head. Maybe it's a story. Maybe it's an essay or presentation. Maybe it's a script.
  1. I could write it in English - but as I have said up above, I don't feel confident in English. Or maybe I do (or could get it edited), but it's not the language I want the story to be in. This choice, of course, would reach the widest audience.
  2. I could record myself signing it - this is good and could reach a decent audience of Deaf people, but watching anything that is too long is tiring. What if I want to make something long? Like a multi-hour story that can't be watched all at once?
  3. I could write it in sign language - This is perfect for longer works, as someone could read it at their own pace. Though this is always going to be more niche than writing in English, but niche can be good!
 This is from my own experience - writing long form stories to read back later makes it easier to tell them. I have even had a few occasions where I have whipped out my laptop, and read a BSL story of my own. Having it written in BSL has helped me remembering the wording and imagery much better than having to translate it.

 This also comes from my discussions with a Deaf professor - who told me that they dislike watching long videos in sign language despite teaching Deaf studies at a university level, and would prefer to read English. With a video you cannot easily stop and start again the next day. You cannot slow down on a tricky section and speed up on an easy one. You cannot skim-read nor key word search. With written English you can do all those things - and would likewise be able to with written sign language.
Lord of the Rings (BSL, written with Icoglyphs)
A Book Embossing Leather - Free photo on Pixabay

Use 6: Artistic Expression & Fun!

 Let's say I am a Deaf artist. I have ideas for stories and self expression and creativity. But all of that is happening in my head in sign language. I don't want to use English to express myself. I create stories in VV. I paint some paintings. But I want to record my stories in a way for others to read them too. I also want to write films and have other Deaf actors sign the signs I imagine them signing in my head.
  1. I could just write it in English - that reaches the widest audience, but just doesn't feel right to me. Plus I first have to translate it into English then other Deaf readers or performers have to translate it back into sign.
  2. I could record everything - but again what if it is too long to reasonably watch?
  3. I could write in sign language - this would be perfect for me!
 This has also been my own experience. I find writing in BSL really fun! I also write in both English and Welsh and all three languages feel different to write and I feel like three different people when I express myself in each.

Use 7: Learning Sign Language

 Let's say I am learning sign language for the first time either as a Deaf child or a deaf later learner of sign. This is going great but I am having trouble remembering signs and grammar. I keep defaulting to English and fingerspelling.
  1. I could write in gloss - but this has many problems as shown in the previous part of my series. It also can confuse learners as they struggle to see English and sign as two separate languages.
  2. I could sketch little pictures of each sign, or what they mean - but I'd have to be really good at sketching and I can't sketch that quickly.
  3. I could write in sign language - with which I could make flash cards for vocabulary. I could also write out sentences on a whiteboard or computer and correct them them to learn how to use grammar well!

Use 8: Learning to Read and Write

 Once again I am a Deaf child learning to read and write for the first time. I find it difficult because I cannot hear the English words (well). I keep making lots of spelling mistakes and struggle to form sentences, and am a very slow reader, who is delayed for my age.
  1. I could push through with English and hope I get better.
  2. I could be taught to read and write sign language first, learn the skillset needed to both read and write in my first language. From there I can transfer those skills back to learning how to read and write in English.
 Research shows that literacy in a first language boosts literacy in a second language. This is especially useful in small minority language communities.

Use 9: Public Access

 In countries like Wales and Ireland, there has been a big push to get Welsh and Irish on the road signs and other spaces in daily life. This means that Welsh speakers can navigate the world a bit easier - and as a Welsh learner you see your language around you.
Similarly - there has recently been a push to get rail platform announcements in BSL across the UK. There is also Braille available in many public spaces.
I would like to see more sign languages out in public.
  1. I could push for more BSL videos in public like the BSL rail platform announcements  - this would be great but expensive.
  2. I could push to see more sign language writing out in public - this would first require that a significant amount of the population use it.
 These ought not to be mutually exclusive. In cases where a video works, it should be that. But for most cases writing would be far simpler.
Stop Sign (international gesture, written with Sutton Signwriting)

Use 10: Dispersing Information

 For other languages, if something needs to be understood by all it is simply translated into the necessary languages, printed and distributed. This works for both short and long information. But for sign languages  you must have a video. This suffers from the same long message problem as above (if the information is long and detailed) - and videos don't work on paper. Say I want to make an informational leaflet.
  1. I could include a QR code to an online version for Deaf people - decent, but requires a lot of extra steps. Also, do I have enough money to pay for this?
  2. I could try to write in simple English - fine but what if the information is to complex.
  3. I could write it in sign language - again assumes enough use this system, but that would be perfect, and on a par with all other languages.
 To be very clear - Having many accessibility options is a good thing. But having a written sign language would give more options.

Use 11: Passing Down for Future Generations

 I want to pass information down to future generations of Deaf and hard of hearing people. I want to tell them my stories. Tell them how we lived.
  • I can write in English - that works only so long as English keeps existing, and I have to hope they can still read and write English, or have it told to them by someone who can.
  • I can record myself signing - and I have to hope that the recordings get saved and shown to those future generations. I have to hope that technology doesn't change drastically that they can't watch it anymore.
  • I can write in sign language - and if we carry on teaching how to write with the same writing system, then they can go back and read what I wrote. Books are not indestructible, but all there needs to be is one copy remaining in a library somewhere to be found again.
An Important Message (BSL, written with Icoglyphs)
Blank Paper Pen - Free photo on Pixabay

Use 12: Language Recognition, Cultural Pride & Identity

 We as a community have been pushing for sign languages to be recognised as worthy of respect, and worthy of being taught to the younger generation of deaf and hard of hearing children.

But one hurdle to this has been that even if you learn sign, you would still need to use English in many aspects of life. So people argue "Why not just learn English instead?" Having our own writing system(s) would help us solidify the case for the recognition of sign languages. It would mean more of life can be lived in sign language if that is what someone wants that. It would help show the world this is who we are, this is our culture!

 Some might counter-argue - "Writing isn't a part of Deaf culture. Why do we need to change to become more respectable to the outside world?"

 I respect that view - and I agree we ought not to change because of outside pressure. Change should come from within because we want it. Ideally any system we decide to adopt will be because we DHH signers in the Deaf community support it and want to adopt it. 

That is a key part of my aim with this blog, as well as my other advocacy in this area. I'd like to spread knowledge about sign language writing, so that we can collectively create or adopt something we all want to use.

Added: I think also - being able to write can bring out one's identity. Because once you write it down as an expression to the world it becomes more tangible. That can be done with English of course, and perhaps with video too. But videos have an ephemeral quality to them, likely watched once and never again, and English tinges one's thoughts via what words it has available. Having a written sign language would give people a way to express their identity through their own culture in a solid tangible medium. One they and others can read repeatedly to reinforce it.

Use 13: Academic Analysis of Sign Languages (Addition)

 This was actually the original intended purpose of some of the major SL writing systems mentioned and used today. Gloss exists to analyse SLs by rendering them into English words, such that word order can be examined. Kinemics was created to analyse the phonology of Handtalk. Stokoe Notation was created to analyse the phonology of ASL - and played a key role in the recognition of sign languages as languages. HamNoSys was created for a similar purpose and has been used also to analyse gestural communication more broadly. 

 While narrower in scope that some of the usages I have previously suggested - I feel like the history of sign language writing systems in the analysis and recognition of sign languages should not be understated either.

Addressing Some Comments

 Various commenters also said raised broadly similar criticisms that I believe deserves to be addressed. The following were provided by Dreamy Tomato on Reddit (and I just want to clarify that I think they are good points even if I disagree):

Desire to use a written language (creating or ingesting) generally correlates with two things: education and linguistic ability. [...] These two things, in the deaf community, also tend to correlate with ability to use the national written language. 

While this is true and a very astute observation - I think it is also partially due to two factors:

  1. Lack of a parallel system
  2. Privilege
 So those of DHH folks who are good at written English, of which I am one, rise because we are good at English. Deaf people who aren't as good at English, but who ARE good at sign, often struggle to access the same successes we do. That is a form of privilege.

 Sign language writing would provide that parallel system, it would offer more ways to live in sign language and more ways to succeed. If you go to university, now you can turn an essay in in sign language. If you want to publish a book, now you can do so in sign language.

 I would like to think it could be used by Deaf people who are clever but struggle with English to empower themselves and become successful. 

 Imagine a book published by a Deaf author in sign language that is successful enough within the community to get translated into English and become a best seller. Or an all Deaf team of filmmakers and actors with scripts written in sign language that make a film like Parasite that gets global acclaim.

 Or even if not chasing the goal of broad appeal - imagine we had our own robust Deaf community sign language ecosystems of fiction and the like. There are a few names who are famous for their Deaf sign language poetry like Bill Bragg, Ian Sanborn and Dorothy Miles - but they rarely outlive their own lifetimes even with video. What if a book of sign language stories written by a yet to be famous Deaf person could be told and retold, the equivalent of a Deaf Tolkein or Dr Seuss. 

 And that is just fiction. Examples like Gallaudet prove that a sign language academia is possible. Writing could turbo charge it. You could become a professor without writing a word of English. Companies could operate not only with everyday work and management in sign - but the entirety of their documents in it also. You could climb the corporate ladder and become a CEO with sign language alone.

My phone has thousands of hours of signing available, and I can record myself signing a quick note in the blink of an eye and share it to thousands in an instant. These recordings function as our written (recorded) form of our language. There are scores of WhatsApp and Facebook groups with nothing but deaf (and hearing) signers signing to each other.

I don't think that should be lost, in fact on the contrary.

 But with spoken languages both exist in unison. We have both Reddit and Youtube - Reddit strongly text based, Youtube audiovisual where people often post themselves talking and often don't even have proper subtitles. We have both books and audiobooks - podcasts and AO3 fanfiction.

I think sign language can have it all too. We could have texting and recording a video message. We could have signing vloggers and bloggers. We could have books and even films in sign language. We could have written sign language stories and those very same stories read out and retold by numerous different presenters.

Thank you to Dreamy Tomato for these comments - I want o make absolutely clear that I consider her comments VERY insightful and good points even if I disagree.

Added: When I posted this on Reddit it got some good responses and some negative ones. Some of the negative ones were very rude, which I do not appreciate. It seems that many have made their minds up on this issue, and take even the suggestion of an alternative way as an insult so lash out.

 However it did demonstrate that there is a significant number of people who dislike this concept. I will highlight parts of some of the comments:

Trying to create a secondary way of reading and writing seems like even more useless and more work for deaf people. Especially when deaf children are already bilingual.

This is probably the biggest reasonable concern and hurdle - that it would be more work.

For Deaf and hard of hearing adults, it is asking a lot in an already tiring life - where we already have to push hard for our language accessibility needs to be met. Asking them to take the time to learn a whole new system is quite challenging.

For DHH children, it is just another school class which doesn't seem useful. They will likely leave school and never use it again.

However - I think "they are already bilingual" reveals something. We wouldn't say the same thing about spoken languages. When I learnt English and Welsh in school - I learnt how to read, write, speak and listen to both. I am bilingual, and bi-literate, in both languages.

I think that advocates of any writing system will need to reduce the hurdle of work. I think this can be done by making it fun. Make it a hobby people can engage in rather than a chore. Also - create uses for it ready to go, such that learners need not wait to put their skills to use. Encourage learners also to make things with it straight off the bat. Help them get their work published and out there visible to the world. Make sure that this skill is not just a dead end. 

Useless. Deaf people can read and write just fine. There’s really no need to invent something that hearing people can’t read and isolates deaf people even more. Source: I’m deaf (but not culturally Deaf).

 First off the fact that there are many Deaf people who struggle with English is a huge part of the problem. Even if they can read, they find it difficult to parse and write English.

 But secondly - the point about isolating Deaf people is an interesting one. But the same could be said (and is said) about sign language in general, when in fact it's often the cure to isolation. Being able to sign links you to a community of your peers - helping you make connections. Sign language writing could do the same.

 Plus it's not an either-or, it's both. Both skills would reinforce one-another.

In my opinion, sign language is a visual language.

[...] 

With sign language, when I sign "dog," it looks like a dog-related motion—such as moving a "B" handshape near my ear because a dog kicks its ear with its leg. Or slapping your right flat hand against your leg and then snapping your fingers, which is a common way to get a dog's attention. 

[...] 

Just imagine: Dog = ∆•£ >¥ (I typed random symbols). "Hey, I wrote that, read it," and the kid would say, "What? Is that ancient Chinese?" That would likely happen because I feel writing sign language is meaningless. Only video or face-to-face communication creates a meaningful image that's simple, and kids will understand both sign language and English.

 I actually agree with most of this comment. I think that systems that look like Dog = ∆•£ >¥ are doomed to fail - not necessarily because they are defective in any way, but because they don't match this Deaf cultural value of visual language.

 It's precisely why I think that writing systems that prioritise intuative visuals are better for sign languages than ones that do not. 

 This commenter was also concerned that children are bad at drawing - but I think that underestimates children. Yes it is a struggle to learn how to draw and how to write, but we spend enough time teaching them how to use language that this one extra skill would not be much more on top, and could boost other skills.

All the comments were taken from: How To Write a Sign Language - Part 5: Useful or Useless? : r/deaf. Do not, I repeat, do not go harassing any of these people. Even if they were rude, I asked for their opinions and I wanted them to share them openly and honestly. 

//

Now for some positive comments:

I believe it's an idea ahead of its time.

One day it will come to fruit. One day I believe that Deaf children will be taught how to read English using textbooks written in ASL that explain the grammar of English, side by side on the page. They will have English <-> ASL and other dictionaries -- with the definitions written in ASL. There will be children's primers, and translations of the world's great literature, and inventory lists, and all the other things we use writing for.

Most people still do not understand what we are actually proposing. See the first comment that replied which is a misconception: the Deaf can already read. Yes: but they can't read their native language.

An analogy that has occurred to me before: people in some indigenous communities react the same way when it is suggested their spoken language be written. Why? We can read and write - in Spanish or English or whatever. Why write what we speak? They do not see the point. I guess it would be arrogant to try to make them see the point. But I do see a point to it.

๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ‘

What sticks out most to me is that with a writing system we could pass along information to future generations in a way that isn’t always possible with the technology and social structures we have now.

Signed languages could be considered more of an “oral” language in one respect, where stories are passed down by signing deaf elders to the younger generation in-person or over video, and these stories are kept alive through memory, performance, and audience.

But there are fewer signing spaces and events, and information is not being passed down as much in-person anymore. We are more globally connected through technology (specifically internet, but not long ago physical media DVDs and casettes were great ways to store and transfer information, but fewer people today own, use, or make them). But the technological landscape is constantly evolving, and we can see it in how social media is being coopted by corporations and becoming less social, more consumer(ism)-oriented. People may be passively watching some stories but it is less interactive, less memorable, and less likely to be naturally passed on.

And it’s also likely that these resources could disappear. You could lose your password or the account could be deleted for any reason, meaning the videos are lost. What if we get into an apocalypse scenario and suddenly lose access to internet? Or electricity? That’s a lot of generational wealth and global connections potentially lost unless we have physical media as well.

So if we’re thinking about thinks like screens that show ASL interpreted announcements at airports, those become inaccessible. We’d still have writing (and forms like braille). If we adopted a system to write signed language(s), those would remain extant as well. We’d still have more rather than less access.

If we’re thinking about print media—not just fiction, but also various matter like the brochures in doctors’ offices, or museum placards, or signage—this too would leave traces of us, a sort of Rosetta stone, in the way that electronic media like videos stored in Google Drive or posted to YouTube may not. The figure is always uncertain.

Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

Bravo, well put! 

It's Not Just Me

I also suggest watching this video by Robert Arnold:

Robert Arnold Augustus at TEDxIslay

He talks about his own struggles, along with his experiences with those asking him to write their life experiences and teaching children which he described as "hungry" for writing.

Conclusions

 Do we "need" sign language writing? No.

 I thoroughly respect the argument that "I don't 'need' sign language writing in my life". Deaf and hard of hearing peoples' lives are already an uphill language battle - needing extra time and energy just to secure the accommodations we need to live a normal life. Asking everyone to put more energy into learning a writing system is asking a lot, especially as the first few to learn it - when it isn't widely taught nor is it widely useful yet.

 And, as I have laid out, there are other solutions to each of the use cases above. Deaf and hard of hearing people have navigated the world as is for the entirety of history - we do not need saving with a new invention.

 But could a sign language writing system benefit us as Deaf and hard of hearing people in the Deaf community? I strongly believe so.

 I believe that writing could open doors that look like walls - doors that we don't even know are there. One of the biggest hurdles is enough people learning how to read and write to make it worth it for anyone. But this is just a matter of momentum - once upon a time most people in society were illiterate, and it was through many years of work that we brought written language to the majority of people. We could do the same again for the Deaf community.

 I would love to see a world in 100 years time where next to all the English book sin a library is a BSL section (or an ASL one in America), where a shy deaf child goes to open a bilingual book and find a whole world of people like them to get stuck into. I want to see sign language so normalised that street signs contain it. I want to, before I die, text a friend in sign language and they text me back also in our shared language. I think we can have all of this and more if we try.

 I want to see a world where this entire blog isn't written in English, but instead in BSL.