About this leaflet

This leaflet is for you if you're thinking of learning British Sign Language (BSL).
This leaflet tells you about:

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

How to 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.

Or visit the Council for the Advancement of Communication with Deaf People website (external link, opens new browser window) for details of BSL courses in your area.

We also have a book about learning BSL called "Start to sign". It is a book showing hundreds of photographs of signs as well as . You can buy the book online from the RNID Shop.

What BSL is

Deaf people in the UK use various methods of communication, but BSL is the most widely used method of signed communication.

Some people use Sign Supported English (SSE). SSE 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.

The structure of 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. For example, the handshape and movement are the same for the signs 'please' and 'thank you', but the lip pattern is different.

Fingerspelling

People who use BSL also use fingerspelling. Certain words - usually names of people and places - are spelled out on fingers. However, fingerspelling alone is not sign language.

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 RNID Information Line if you would like one of these alphabet cards. Or practise your fingerspelling here.

Sign language in different countries

Sign languages are as different as spoken languages. Deaf people in different countries don't use the same sign language, but some sign languages do have a similar structure. BSL is not universal - it is only used in the UK.

Some deaf people in Northern Ireland prefer to use Irish Sign Language (ISL) as well as BSL.

Is BSL the same across the country?

No, BSL has many regional variations just as spoken languages have different dialects. 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'.