How climate change is changing sign language – 08/14/2023 – Education

For deaf children, teachers and scientists, talking about topics like “greenhouse gases” or “carbon footprint” meant spelling out long, complex scientific terms letter by letter.

These concepts are now among 200 environmental science terms that have their own new official signs in British Sign Language (BSL).

The deaf scientists and sign language experts behind the update hope that the new vocabulary will make it possible for deaf people to fully participate in discussions about climate change, whether in the science lab or in the classroom.

“We’re trying to create perfect signs that visualize scientific concepts,” explains Audrey Cameron.

Cameron, who is deaf, leads the sign language project at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, which has just added the new terms to the BSL dictionary.

She described how, in her own scientific career, a lack of vocabulary led to exclusion from important meetings and conversations.

“I’ve been involved in research for 11 years and I went to a lot of meetings, but I was never really involved because I couldn’t understand what people were saying,” she told BBC News. “I wanted to talk to people about chemistry and I just couldn’t.”

Liam McMulkin, professor of biology in Glasgow, Scotland, was also involved in the sign-making workshops organized by the Scottish Sensory Centre.

“The beauty of sign language, particularly for science, is that it’s a visual language,” he said. “Some of the concepts are abstract, but sign language can really help kids understand them.”

McMulkin used the sign for “photosynthesis” as an example, which uses the shape of a flat hand to represent a leaf, while projecting the fingers—like the sun’s rays—from the other hand.

“When I do that [mover a mão do sol em direção à mão da folha]you can visualize that the energy is being absorbed by the leaf”, he explained.

The scientific glossary project, funded in part by the Royal Society, has been running since 2007 and has added around 7,000 new signs to the BSL.

Cameron described the process by which signs are developed. “We took a list of terms from the school curriculum and then worked together to come up with something precise, but also visual, of meaning.”

The newest signs are themed around biodiversity, ecosystems, the physical environment and pollution. There is an online video glossary demonstrating the terms.

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The glossary is designed to support deaf children in schools.

And as 13-year-old Melissa, a deaf pupil at a mainstream school in Glasgow, explained: “They really help you understand what’s going on.”

Melissa showed the difference between spelling out GREENHOUSE GASES and using the new sign that includes moving your clenched fists like gas molecules in the air.

“With the signal, I can see that something is going on with the gas,” she said.

McMulkin, who is Melissa’s science teacher and is also deaf, added that hearing people are “constantly learning and gaining knowledge” wherever they go, “but deaf people miss out on a lot of information.”

“That’s why it’s so important to use sign language in school science lessons,” he says.

“It allows deaf children to learn in their natural language.”

Cameron also highlighted the value in education of portraying intricate scientific concepts in hand movements — for both deaf and hearing children.

Cameron watched a class where five-year-olds were learning about how things float or sink.

“They were learning how less dense things float, which is quite complex,” he explained. “And the teacher was using the sign for ‘density’.”

The sign explains this concept by using a clenched fist and wrapping around the other hand—squeezing and releasing to represent different densities.

“I thought, ‘These five-year-olds are not going to understand this.’ But sometime after the end of class, they were asked why things float or sink and they all used the sign for density,” Cameron said.

“So I saw the impact this can have. And my passion grew as the glossary grew.”

Professor Jeremy Sanders, chairman of the Royal Society’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee, said:

“We hope these new signs will inspire and empower the next generation of students using sign language and allow scientists to share their vital work with the world.”

The text was originally published here.