It seems that sign language is often under-appreciated as a form of communication and so it for this reason that I wish to shed some light on its history and value in modern society. Having already completed a British Sign Language course, I was intrigued to deepen my understanding of French Sign Language (FSL.)
The language was first recognised in 1771 in France by L’Abbé de l’Epée when he opened the first school for deaf students. Soon after, Laurent Clerc, another Frenchman, introduced the sign language in the United States.
Despite this progression, it’s use was prohibited In France in 1880 because it was considered to be too animalistic and they believed that it would marginalise them from society by categorising deafness as a handicap. Therefore, they encouraged deaf people to continue talking and to read lips.
French Sign Language was not officially recognised until 2005 and even today, only 5% of deaf children have an education in sign language.
There are many variations of French Sign Language just like there are many French accents; these variations can be understood among different French-signers. This is not the case among francophone regions however, as some countries in Africa use the American Sign Language. Why? Simply because when the Americans started travelling to Africa, as missionaries, they saw that they did not have a language of their own and so they implemented their sign language.
With 169,000 people signing FSL, we should value it as an official language and therefore should encourage students to learn it like any other modern language.
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