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D_21
Lv 5
D_21 asked in Society & CultureLanguages · 9 years ago

Are there different dialects in sign language for different ethnicities?

I thought there was only one sign language that was pretty much the same where ever you went in the world. Although I don't currently know sign language or anyone that uses it so I guess I just didn't really think about it much. I just read this article though about how there are differences in signing for caucasian americans vs. african americans. Would there be differences for asian americans and native americans too etc.? Probably for other parts of the world and actual foreign languages too I presume.

I'm just curious if anyone on here actually knows for sure.

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http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2012/10/08/bl...

5 Answers

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  • Anonymous
    9 years ago
    Favorite Answer

    There is a difference in ethnicities, just as the article explains. I would suggest reading the orginal article that it is cited from:

    That links back to the Washington post article:

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/sign...

    To answer your question; not always but often. It depends what you were raised around. If you were raised around a certain ethnicity with a certain sign language dialect then you will probably continue to sign that style. I had a teacher who was taught by all women; he signed more like a woman. To show you a comparison.

    There are different sign languages just as there are different spoken languages in every country.

    Source(s): ASL interpreter, sibling of a deaf child
  • 9 years ago

    I am not reading the article you linked.

    However, know that sign language varies around the world. American Sign Language is commonly used in the United States and Canada as well as some other countries. There is Australian Sign Language and British Sign Language. I know that in China, their form of sign language is basically drawing the characters in the air.

    I do know that there are regional differences in sign language, for instance in the United States a sign might be commonly used in one area but not another or done a little differently here than there or alternative signs used, etc. I assume that there are other variations, too, on a small scale.

  • 9 years ago

    Here in the United States, American Sign Language (ASL) is used and even those signs vary from region to region. It's much like an accent with hearing people ~ New Yorkers speak differently from Southerners. And each language around the world has it's own sign language. ASL's origins are in French Sign Language, but it is not the same.

  • Anonymous
    9 years ago

    That is the most ignorant thing I've ever read. ASL isn't seperated into white and black. Different cultures in the US are bound to change ASL a bit - just like how people talk differently in the states - , but it isn't a race thing.

    Sign language is different in various areas of the world. The different types were created at different times and places. The world doesn't speak in only one tongue. In America, you are sort of right. There is American Sign Language and Native American sign language. Those are the only two well-defined sign languages in the USA; moreover, every race doesn't have its own type.

  • ?
    Lv 4
    5 years ago

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