How it works
Sign languages are not one language: American, British and Japanese signers use languages from three different families. Press the button for a sign language of the world, with where it is used and its family.
Read the full guide
Learn the one used where you live
A sign language belongs to a Deaf community, not to a spoken language. Britain and America share English, yet their sign languages are quite distinct. One country can hold two: Canada has American Sign Language and, in its French-speaking part, Quebec Sign Language; Belgium has Flemish and French Belgian Sign Language; Northern Ireland uses British and Irish Sign Language.
Why American Sign Language is closer to French
American Sign Language belongs to the French Sign Language family, which descends from the signing of the deaf community of Paris. British Sign Language heads a second family, with Auslan and New Zealand Sign Language. Japanese, Korean and Taiwan Sign Language form a third.
Questions and answers
What sign language should I learn?
The one Deaf people near you use, so you can practice with them. In the United States that is American Sign Language, in the United Kingdom British Sign Language, in Australia Auslan and in New Zealand New Zealand Sign Language.
Is sign language the same in every country?
No. Wikipedia’s article on sign language says sign languages are not universal and are usually not mutually intelligible. The 2021 edition of Ethnologue lists 150 of them, and another atlas lists over 200.
Is American Sign Language the same as British Sign Language?
No, they are separate languages. American Sign Language spells words with a one-handed alphabet, and British Sign Language uses a two-handed one.
Is there an international sign language?
International Sign is used between signers of different languages at meetings such as the World Federation of the Deaf congress and at the Deaflympics. Wikipedia describes it as a pidgin sign language.
What is the most widely used sign language?
Wikipedia’s article on sign language names Indo-Pakistani Sign Language, used in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, as the most widely used in the world as of 2021.