<
https://www.positive.news/society/all-hands-on-deck-rewilding-british-sign-language/>
"Words are capable of inspiring action, forging connections and deepening our
knowledge. And when we lack vocabulary in our own language? We borrow it from
another, although nuance can be lost in translation. The British Sign Language
(BSL) had to do just that for a long time, resorting to finger-spelling certain
terms in the absence of visual representations for them.
But it’s catching up quickly. In 2024, signs for ‘global warming’,
‘deforestation’ and another 200 terms related to energy, sustainability and
environmental impact were created. They are part of a second round of an online
glossary, which launched in 2023.
Now, a total of 400 signs have been developed by scientists, educators and sign
linguists from the project at the University of Edinburgh’s Scottish Sensory
Centre to make the topic more accessible for the deaf community, particularly
for children. They build on a base of scientific words extracted from GCSE and
A-Level courses that have been developed into signs by the team since 2007.
“Having them has really improved children’s breadth of vocabulary and
understanding of scientific terms,” says Derek Rodger, a chemistry teacher, and
head of STEM, at Heathlands School for Deaf Children, in St Albans. Rodger is
also part of the glossary team. “We start off with the concrete sign and then
move into abstract thinking,” he says, “which has been really helpful”.
Admittedly the tools have come later than many in the deaf community had hoped.
But right away, they are helping to shape discussions around the climate. BSL
has achieved remarkable progress for a language that was only officially
recognised by the UK government in 2003, and has faced barriers and stigma for
centuries."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
