Sign Supported English (SSE)

Sign language is not the only way deaf people can use gestures or make signs with their hands to communicate. Sign language - whichever one - is usually preferential to other forms of gesture based communication systems because it is a language as a whole. It has grammar, structure, syntax and rules. However, for a variety of reasons people may not want to or indeed be able to learn a whole language based around signing. In this case, other forms of manually coded language come in. The most popular of these in the UK at least is Sign Supported English.

What is Sign Supported English?

As the name suggests, sign supported English relates to the English language. British Sign Language does not. In a sign language - British or otherwise, the structure of the language is unique to that language. It bears no resemblance to the main spoken language in the country in which it is used. Sign supported English however, takes the signs from British sign language and uses them in the order that the words would be spoken in English. This means that a working knowledge of the signs for different words is needed in order to understand and use sign supported English, but the more complex grammar is not. This method of signing is also sometimes referred to as conceptually accurate signed language.

Who Can Use Sign Supported English?

Anyone who knows plenty of signs can use sign supported English, so as long as they have a good vocabulary, they will be able to manage it. The more signs known the better, but people who only know a limited number of signs can often manage by signing the main words in a sentence and mouthing the others clearly. This of course, relies on the person being spoken to being able to lip read.

Other Similar Languages

Systems of communication such as sign supported English cannot truly be called languages and so are known as manually coded English. There are many different variants throughout the English speaking world. The one thing they all have in common is that they represent English using signs, rather than having their own language system. But in the USA and other countries, the relationship between various sign languages and American English gets complicated and boundaries blurred. For the purposes of speakers in the UK, sign supported English is the main variant.

Sign supported English may not be as satisfactory a language in its own right as British Sign Language but there can be no doubt that it fills a much needed gap. For people who struggle with language learning, sign supported English removes this need and all the person must learn is new vocabulary. If the person you are signing to does not know English, it can be difficult to make them understand and so sign language would be better. However, if they are familiar with English then sign supported English should be understood.