Sign language influenced by national languages?

Berlusconi   Sat May 17, 2008 10:29 am GMT
If someone knows sign language and also can read their national language, does that count as knowing two languages? Does sign language have influence from the way the national language is?

Good Dusk.
Skippy   Sat May 17, 2008 1:53 pm GMT
Some linguists consider sign language to be actual language though it is not widely accepted by the linguistic community. I have no idea.
Guest   Sat May 17, 2008 11:13 pm GMT
<<Actually, I disagree. Sign languages are languages just as much as spoken ones, and generally have little connection to the spoken language of the area, eg. British Sign Language and American Sign Language are unrelated.>>


If sign language is unrelated to regular spoken languages, why not just have one world-wide sign language? Why should each country have their own language, completely unrelated to any other?
Berlusconi   Sun May 18, 2008 12:07 am GMT
<<If sign language is unrelated to regular spoken languages, why not just have one world-wide sign language? Why should each country have their own language, completely unrelated to any other?>>>

Why not have one spoken language? Spanish anyone? But then the French will lose it.... but we can't have French either because of the Hispanics...

Although I wouldn't have thought deaf people would be so petty, they should stick together.

Good Dawn.
Guest   Sun May 18, 2008 2:58 am GMT
Hmm that is very interesting that a new language could emerge so quickly. I wonder if the same would be possible with spoken language. Say, put a bunch of non-deaf kids in a cage and see if they end up speaking coherently. How long would it take for barks and growls to develop into language... could be an interesting experiment for a future Nazi government LOL.
K. T.   Sun May 18, 2008 3:05 am GMT
That's a disturbing idea.

I thought I heard or read within the last year that a French sign language user was able to communicate with an ASL user.
Guest   Sun May 18, 2008 3:32 am GMT
It's unethical but you can't say that the results wouldn't be interesting. There is a story than a Pharaoh did an experiment like that with only two children in attempt to discover what the first language was.
Guest   Sun May 18, 2008 3:41 am GMT
Well, you never know what kinds of things are going on in the Austrian 'underground'... maybe it's not impossible for such an experiment to be carried out...
K. T.   Sun May 18, 2008 3:56 am GMT
Maybe it's best not to suggest new ways to be evil to those who are suspectible to suggestions.
K. T.   Sun May 18, 2008 3:57 am GMT
I mean "susceptible".
Guest   Sun May 18, 2008 4:03 am GMT
True, but I hate to say they're probably not running short on ideas... All you have to do is turn on the TV to some hollywood trash movie.