Back لغة الإشارة البريطانية Arabic Llingua de signos británica AST Yezh ar Sinoù Breizhveurek Breton Lingua di i cenni brettagnica Corsican Iaith Arwyddion Prydain Welsh British Sign Language German Βρετανική νοηματική γλώσσα Greek Lèngva di sègn britànica EML Brita signolingvo Esperanto زبان اشاره انگلیسی Persian

British Sign Language

British Sign Language (BSL)
Breetish Sign Leid (Ulster Scots)
Iaith Arwyddion Prydain (Welsh)
Cànan Soidhnidh Bhreatainn (Scottish Gaelic)
Teanga Chomharthaíochta na Breataine (Irish)
Native toUnited Kingdom
Native speakers
77,000 (2014)[1]
250,000 L2 speakers (2013)
BANZSL
  • British Sign Language (BSL)
none widely accepted
SignWriting[2]
Official status
Recognised minority
language in
Language codes
ISO 639-3bfi
Glottologbrit1235
The BSL manual alphabet (right-hand-dominant form shown)

British Sign Language (BSL) is a sign language used in the United Kingdom and is the first or preferred language among the deaf community in the UK. While private correspondence from William Stokoe hinted at a formal name for the language in 1960,[3] the first usage of the term "British Sign Language" in an academic publication was likely by Aaron Cicourel.[4] Based on the percentage of people who reported 'using British Sign Language at home' on the 2011 Scottish Census, the British Deaf Association estimates there are 151,000 BSL users in the UK, of whom 87,000 are Deaf.[5] By contrast, in the 2011 England and Wales Census 15,000 people living in England and Wales reported themselves using BSL as their main language.[6] People who are not deaf may also use BSL, as hearing relatives of deaf people, sign language interpreters or as a result of other contact with the British Deaf community. The language makes use of space and involves movement of the hands, body, face and head.

  1. ^ British Sign Language (BSL) at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ "BSL on paper" (PDF). Retrieved 27 June 2016.
  3. ^ Leahy, Anne; Brown, Peter (2020). "Naming British Sign Language 1960–1975". Sign Language Studies. 20 (4): 691–698. doi:10.1353/sls.2020.0024.
  4. ^ Cicourel, Aaron (April 1974). "Gestural Sign Language and the Study of Nonverbal Communication". Sign Language Studies. 4 (4): 35–76. doi:10.1353/sls.1974.0007. JSTOR 26203093.
  5. ^ "Help & Resources". British Deaf Association. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  6. ^ 2011 Census: Quick Statistics for England and Wales, March 2011, Accessed 17 February 2013.

Developed by StudentB