About this leaflet

This leaflet is for you if you're thinking of learning British Sign Language (BSL).
You should read this leaflet if you want to know:

We also include BSL signs that are useful in everyday life, and the
fingerspelling alphabet.

You can download a portable document format (PDF) version of this leaflet (opens new browser window).

How should I learn BSL?

It is impossible to learn to sign from a leaflet, a book, video or CD-ROM. If you would like to learn BSL, the best way is to take a course taught by a qualified sign language teacher.

We can arrange for an experienced deaf trainer to come to where you work and teach an introductory Start to Sign course.

Contact our Information Line about this and for details of BSL courses in your area.

The photographs in this leaflet will introduce you to BSL. They are taken from our Start to sign! book.

You can buy the book online from the RNID Shop. Buying the book gives you free access to see the moving signs online. You can aid your learning – and test yourself with our interactive quizzes.

What BSL is

In the UK, people who are deaf use various methods of communication including speech and lip reading, but BSL is the most widely used method of signed communication. Some people use Sign Supported English (SSE), which is not a language in its own right, but more a kind of English with signs.

It’s difficult to say how many people in the UK use BSL as their first or preferred language. Estimates vary from 50,000 to 70,000.

What kind of language is BSL

BSL evolved naturally, as all languages do. It uses both manual and non-manual components - handshapes and movements, facial expression, and shoulder movement.

BSL is structured in a completely different way to English. In BSL you start with the main subject or topic. After that, you refer to something about the topic.

For example:

Lip patterns

Lip patterns are a very important part of BSL. The signs for ‘uncle’, ‘aunt’, ‘nephew’ and ‘niece’ illustrate this. The handshape and movement are the same for all of these signs, but the lip pattern is different.

Is sign language the same around the world?

No, sign languages are as varied as spoken languages. Different countries have their own unique sign language, but some sign languages do have a similar structure. BSL is not universal – it is only used in the UK.

In Northern Ireland, people who are deaf prefer to use Irish Sign Language (ISL) as well as BSL.

Is BSL the same across the country?

No, there are regional variations in sign language just as there are in spoken languages. In different parts of the country, signs will have different meanings, or there will be different signs for one word. For example, there are 10 to 12 variations for the word ‘holiday’.

What is fingerspelling?

Fingerspelling is the BSL alphabet. Certain words – usually names of people and places – are spelled out on fingers. However, fingerspelling alone is not sign language.

See our fingerspelling alphabet. We have cards, bookmarks and posters of the fingerspelling alphabet (sometimes called the manual alphabet). We also have cards of the Welsh, Irish and deafblind fingerspelling alphabets.

Contact the Information Line for copies.