Throughout this unit, you may be asking yourself, “Why should I learn about sign language?” To answer this question, it is important to first clarify some common misconceptions regarding sign languages, used as forms of communication around the world, to educate yourself and eventually others.

Often, people unfamiliar with sign languages associate them with linguistic simplicity. For example, outsiders to these languages may assume the gestures they see signal a lack of rules, structure, and syntax. Instead, as a real and complex means of communication and expression, sign languages honor the same linguistic principles as spoken languages.

We use the plural form of the umbrella term “sign language” because it more accurately reflects that sign languages vary widely by place, much like spoken languages. For example, people in Italy use Italian Sign Language (LIS), those in France use French Sign Language (LSF), those in the United States use American Sign Language (ASL), etc.

Though they are informed by cultural influence, sign languages also diverge from their respective spoken language counterparts regarding their grammar, syntax, rules, and constraints. In the case of LIS (Italian Sign Language) specifically, verbs must agree with both the subject and object of the sentence; in spoken Italian, verbs must only agree with the subject.