British Sign Language History, Facts and Grammar Guide
Author: Ian C. Langtree - Writer/Editor for Disabled World (DW)
Published: 2009/01/20 - Updated: 2026/02/11
Publication Type: Informative
Category Topic: Deaf Communication - Related Publications
Page Content: Synopsis - Introduction - Main - Insights, Updates
Synopsis: This information provides an authoritative overview of British Sign Language (BSL), tracing its development from the first documented use in a 1576 wedding ceremony through centuries of educational advancement and suppression, to its 2003 government recognition without legal protection. The article explains BSL's unique visual-gestural grammar system, debunks common misconceptions about sign language being mere gesture, and details the ongoing fight for full legal status that would guarantee deaf citizens equal access to health, legal, and employment information. People with hearing loss, families of deaf individuals, educators, and interpreters will find the historical context particularly useful for understanding why accessibility gaps persist today, while the practical facts section addresses common questions about BSL's relationship to other sign languages, regional variations, and why British and American sign languages differ despite sharing a spoken language - Disabled World (DW).
- Definition: British Sign Language
British Sign Language (BSL) is the indigenous signed language used by deaf communities across the United Kingdom. It's a complete, complex language with its own grammar and syntax that differs fundamentally from spoken English - for instance, BSL follows a topic-comment structure rather than subject-verb-object, and it uses space, movement, and facial expressions as grammatical markers in ways that have no parallel in English. Around 151,000 people in the UK use BSL, including roughly 87,000 deaf individuals for whom it's a first or preferred language. The language has regional dialects and variations, much like spoken languages do, with signs varying between cities like Glasgow, Manchester, and London. BSL was finally recognized as an official language of the UK in 2003, though this recognition remains largely symbolic - it doesn't guarantee the same legal protections or access rights that spoken languages receive. The language evolved naturally within British deaf communities over centuries, developing independently from other signed languages, which means it's mutually unintelligible with American Sign Language despite both countries sharing English as a spoken language.
Introduction
British Sign language (BSL) is a visual-gestural language which makes use of three dimensional space and the movement of hands (and other parts of the body) to convey meaning. It has its own vocabulary and syntax.
An aid to understanding it can be helped by understating the processes of spoken language. Spoken language involves the use of the oratory faculties to produce sounds mapped against specific words and grammatical combinations. The oratory elements are then received by the auditory faculties and processed accordingly. British sign language however, makes use of the visual faculties as opposed to the auditory faculties. In the same way that spoken language makes use of rules to produce comprehensive messages, British Sign Language is also governed by a complex grammar which allows both the tangible and the non tangible to be discussed thoroughly.
Contrary to the beliefs of significant parts of the speaking population, British Sign Language is not a mixture of arbitrary signs modeled solely on the visual referent.
Main Content
History of British Sign Language
British Sign Language has fought a difficult battle throughout history - a battle which is still being fought today. The following information will give an overview of the language and some of the battles that it has had to endure throughout history.
One of the first official historical record of BSL dates back to 1576, when a wedding ceremony was conducted in sign language in Leicester.
The 18th and 19th Centuries appear to have been a far more positive time in history for individuals using it. Examples of events during this period are as follows:
- Reference to the development of a sign language finger alphabet, developed by Daniel Defoe, was documented in 1720. Incidentally, this method of communicating alphabets is still in use today (with a few minor adjustments)
- The first public school for Deaf children was established in 1755 by Charles-Michel de l'Epee. Charles-Michel de l'Epee continues to be celebrated as a pioneer in educational services for the Deaf. Following his death, he became recognized as a 'Benefactor of Humanity' and it was hence declared that deaf people had rights according to the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (this declaration was documented during the French Revolution and defines individual and collective rights).
- Not long after this, Thomas Braidwood established a school for the Deaf in Edinburgh in 1760. Twenty three years later he established the Braidwood Academy for the Deaf and Dumb in Hackney, London. One of Thomas's graduates was Joseph Watson, who also went on to establish a well known school for the deaf. In turn, Joseph's most famous graduate was the inspirational John Lowe who became famous not only for being an excellent barrister but also, for being the first recorded Deaf Barrister.
- In 1917, Laurent and Lerc (a graduate of l'Epee's School for the Deaf) established the first ever School for the Deaf in America. This school had a great reputation for excellence in its field and became state sponsored in 1819.
Unfortunately, the history of sign language takes a negative turn at this point in history.
From the 1860's onwards, oralism became popular in Deaf education and as such a number of Oral only schools were established.
Twenty years later, delegates at the Conference of Educators of the Deaf, voted to implement oralism as the sole method in schools.
At this point, life became difficult for significant numbers of Deaf children.
Forbidden to use sign language, and as such unable to express themselves and engage fully in learning opportunities the potential and well being of many Deaf children became stunted at the best and inhumanely violated at the worst.
The History of the Deaf did not start to take a more positive direction until 1974 when it was agreed that British Sign Language is a language in its own right. From this point, great attention and respect became generated for it from broader society and Deaf people became better able and equipped to express themselves in the educational arena. As such, the acceptance of BSL as a viable and positive language and method of communication, presented the catalyst for Deaf children to be able to achieve both personally and educationally.
The fights for British Sign language which have been fought throughout history have still not ended however.
Although 2003 saw the British Government recognizing British Sign Language as a language in its own right, they have yet to give it legal status. As such, the accessibility to necessary information and literature which the hearing population take for granted (such as health, legal, benefits and employment information) is not automatically made available in the necessary formats to the Deaf population. As such, this is a fight that continues to be fought...
British Sign Language Facts
In the last few years, there has been an increasing amount of interest in British Sign Language (BSL). Here are 6 quick facts for the beginner and newbies to BSL:
- The sign language used in England and the UK is known as British Sign Language (BSL). It is the first language of approx. 150,000 deaf people in the British Isles. There are also many thousands of people who are not deaf who BSL such as employers of deaf people, relatives/friends and interpreters.
- British Sign Language has its own grammar which uses facial expressions, hand shapes and upper body movements to convey meaning. BSL is a spatial and visual language and a lot of beginners think it is similar to mime (which it is not). The important thing to remember is that the grammar used in BSL is completely different to those used in everyday English.
- Even though Britain and the U.S.A. speak English as the first language of their respective countries, British Sign Language is different to American Sign Language, also known as ASL. Again, it is also the the same difference with BSL and Irish Sign Language (ISL) and Northern Ireland Sign Language (NISL). This fact demonstrates that even though these countries have English as the first language, the sign language used varies from country to country.
- Users of British Sign Language successfully campaigned the government of the United Kingdom and made BSL into an officially recognized British language back in March 2003. British Sign Language is now recognized on the same level as other languages of the United Kingdom such as Scottish, Welsh and Gaelic. But to this present day, BSL has no legal protection.
- Just as in the English language, British Sign Language also has regional dialects. As an example, some signs used in the Northern parts of England may have difficulty being understood in the south of the country and vice versa. And what is even more confusing is that some signs are 'local signs' which are understood in only certain towns. For example, some of the BSL used in Manchester is so local that it is not understood outside of the city. Think of it as local 'slang'. And just like local slang in any town or city, new phrases and words come in and out of fashion or just evolve over time.
- After reading the facts above, you may think that British Sign Language is difficult to learn. Well the good news is that learning BSL is not as difficult as you may think. Just like learning any other French, Spanish, Japanese or any other language, the hardest part is just getting started. There are many resources for learning BSL. Some are easy to grasp and some are impossible to follow! There are many different resources both online and offline which are worth researching.
Insights, Analysis, and Developments
Editorial Note: The recognition of British Sign Language as an official language in 2003 marked a significant milestone, yet the absence of legal protection reveals an uncomfortable truth about how societies can acknowledge something symbolically while withholding the practical guarantees that make recognition meaningful. For the 150,000 deaf people in the British Isles who use BSL as their first language, this gap isn't academic - it affects whether they can access medical information, understand their legal rights, or navigate employment opportunities without barriers. The history of BSL reflects broader patterns in disability rights: periods of progress followed by systematic suppression, particularly the devastating era from the 1860s when oralism dominated and children were forbidden from signing. Understanding this context helps explain why the fight for full legal status isn't merely bureaucratic but represents the difference between genuine inclusion and tokenistic acknowledgment, a distinction that matters deeply to anyone who believes language rights are human rights - Disabled World (DW).
Author Credentials: Ian is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Disabled World, a leading resource for news and information on disability issues. With a global perspective shaped by years of travel and lived experience, Ian is a committed proponent of the Social Model of Disability-a transformative framework developed by disabled activists in the 1970s that emphasizes dismantling societal barriers rather than focusing solely on individual impairments. His work reflects a deep commitment to disability rights, accessibility, and social inclusion. To learn more about Ian's background, expertise, and accomplishments, visit his full biography.