In the United States, the Deaf community uses American Sign Language (ASL) to communicate, but ASL is hardly the only signed language in the world. A signed language is one that employs a system of hand gestures with specific placement relative to the upper body and includes facial expressions, body postures, and finger spelling. Sign languages are usually made by and for the Deaf community in a particular country.

There are multiple estimates of the exact number of sign languages used throughout the world today. Studies by Ethnologue have found that there are 160, while National Geographic research claims there are over 300. The discrepancy is due to all of the dialects and regional variations that Ethnologue does not list in its broad classification.

Just like the global hearing community created Esperanto with hopes of uniting nations through a common language (despite its lack of success), the Deaf community has done the same with the creation of International Sign (IS). While not fully developed as a natural language, IS is a pidgin form that is used in international settings such as the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD), the Deaflympics, and the United Nations for better communication.

Effects on the Language Industry

According to Lonely Planet, only 41 out of all 195 countries in the world have declared a sign language as an official language, despite a global total of around 70 million people who use one every day. For countries or areas that do have a sign language as an official language — such as Papa New Guinea, Sweden, and New Zealand — dependence on certified professional interpreters is much higher than elsewhere. Lack of awareness and research about sign language users within a specific area can result in less funding for sign language interpreter education and even a decline in the number of native signers. 

Currently, language service providers (LSPs) prioritize the main sign language used within their operating area. For example, most American-based LSPs only offer ASL, whereas LSPs based in the United Kingdom (UK) primarily offer British Sign Language (BSL). However, there are still sign language users in those countries who sign a lesser-used language (for example, immigrants who sign their native language). This can create communication barriers for those who need professional sign language interpreting services in other languages that are not available.

The best way to prevent language barriers in a multilingual environment of sign language users is to bring awareness to the importance of signed languages in educational resources, tailored training programs, and multi-faceted certification exams that help to meet the ever-increasing demand for sign language services around the world.