International gesture: Principles and gestures1
David Bar-Tzur
Created 11 July 2002, links updated monthly with the help of LinkAlarm.
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Disclaimer: I am certainly not an expert in International Gesture, but since there is not much readily available about it at present I will offer some observations of what I have seen International Gesturers use at Deaf Way I and Deaf Way II, as well as at other conventions.
Principles
Deaf people from different countries have greater ease in communicating with each other than hearing people do. This is not because sign language is universal, but because Deaf people have more patience with communication and are willing to add mime and gesture. Some signs are more iconic than others. If you sign HOUSE slowly to hearing people, they are likely to guess its meaning. If you sign PEOPLE, it is unlikely that they can deduce its meaning. People who are fluent in any sign language have minds that are more open to understanding a new sign, but it is also true across sign languages that one country may have a more iconic sign than another. In Israel, "government" is signed (2h)[B, POs down, FOs away, and hands alt. move forward and backward, similar to the ASL sign WALK. In Canada the sign looks like a fingerspelled G-G. In England, they tap the head with the fingertips of a [5:]. Although it is true that someone who is unfamiliar with any of these sign languages may not guess their meaning, the British sign is the most translucent, that is, if one were told its meaning and given the mnemonic that is it like a king's crown, that person would be able to learn and retain its meaning the fastest and longest.
Deaf people who travel internationally often seek out other Deaf people or, if they run into them by chance, take the time to try and communicate with them. This was vital for international Deaf sports meets and with the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD), which works to improve the quality of life for Deaf people worldwide. The possibility of a universal gestural system was originally discussed in 1951 by the WFD. In 1973, it set up a committee called the Commission of Unification of Signs to develop Gestuno, a gestural system parallel to the spoken/written Esperanto, which could be used for such occasions. The committee selected signs from across the world that were the most iconic and developed Gestuno. Gestuno has developed and changed to what is now called International Gesture (IG). It is useful for interpreters at international conferences so that they can serve those Deaf audiences who could not bring their own interpreters. It is also helpful for interpreters working one-on-one with Deaf people from their own country who do not share a common signed language. It can also be used for pleasure when visiting other countries when a person wants a system that will facilitate communication.
We will now consider some principles that should be used when communicating in IG. Remember that IG is not a language but a negotiated communication system so one needs to be flexible. Languages reflect culture, so signs/gestures should be picked that are as cross-cultural as possible. I saw a gesturer sign for "Abraham Lincoln": Left hand [A], PO down, FO away, right hand [L], PO down, FO away, like the Lincoln Memorial statue + (2h)[C] showing stovepipe hat. [See Explanation of the glossing system used.] If an international person would recognize anything about Lincoln, it would probably be the Lincoln Memorial and pictures of him with a stovepipe hat. This brings up the point that if a person had never seen a picture of Lincoln and did not know who he was, no amount of gesture will bring across that concept. Feedback is of course important in any communication, so you will want to keep an eye on your audience for comprehension or a lack thereof. With IG, it is even more likely that some people will understand while others won't.
One continuous thread of ideas is better than a lot of repetition, but the gesturer will need to decide when clarification needs to be given. Signs often use metonymy, which means a sign language will select a part of an object to depict in the sign. For a gesture, you may need to show many parts of an object, such as showing the surgical table, the pedestal, the patient, the doctor, and the action to convey "surgery". On the other hand, if only a part of an object is being spoken of, you may need to describe the entire context of the object as we have just described and then end by indexing which part of the whole you are referring to, such as "the surgical patient". Remember to show the three-dimensionality of an object, such as showing the height, width, and depth of a television set rather than showing it as a flat screen. Don't repeat what you've already done or add too much information if you have already conveyed the idea as shown by the back-channel feedback. Don't be shy; act it out. Show the steps of a process, such as opening all four legs of a card table.
Signs may generalize a thing, such as a box; show the specific size of the object being referred to. You may need to back up out of your signing space to show perspective or to expand the space you are working with. Fingerspelling is permissible. A one-handed alphabet is used, similar to that used in ASL, but the "T" is modified, since it is an obscene gesture in some cultures. The "T" may either look like an ASL "F" but with the thumb crossed on the thumb side of the or with thumb and index finger crossed as just described, but with the other fingers folded into the palm. The "M" and "N" are also held with the relevant fingers held out straight and the hand nodded down to make it absolutely clear how many fingers are being held out. Since the audience may have a totally different alphabet, make sure to fingerspell slowly and sparingly. If you know the audience's alphabet (and there is only one used by all of them) you could use their fingerspelling instead. If you are having a conversation with a person, things will go most smoothly if you use the alphabet of the person you are speaking with and the person uses your alphabet.
Numbers vary vastly across sign languages. IG uses numbers as follows. All numbers are PO away, FO up. A "zero" is sometimes represented by an "O" and sometimes by an "F", because of the round shape of the joined thumb and index finger. "1 - 5" is shown by holding up the index finger, then adding the middle finger, the thumb (some people will show an ASL "W", holding the little finger against the thumb), switching to the four fingers and tucking in thumb, and finally showing all five fingers. "6 - 10" are shown by add fingers on the NDH with the addition of a FIVE on the DH. If a number is larger that 10, it is shown digit by digit, so that "548" become FIVE FOUR EIGHT. Numbers are shown from the signer's right to the signer's left (regardless of handedness) to make it easier for the audience to read. If the number has more than three digits, a comma may be added to show the thousands place. "12,832" would become ONE TWO COMMA EIGHT THREE TWO. Since dates do not show a comma, the year "1462" would be ONE FOUR SIX TWO without a comma. I have seen a 1-CL and (2h)4-CL used to show the movement or placement of a person or people, but the use of other classifiers must be carefully considered, since different sign languages use different handshapes for the same concept.
IG uses each country's indigenous sign for itself: the Norwegian sign for "Norway", the Polish sign for "Poland", and so on. See the resources at the end of these principles for the site for indigenous signs for countries. Before the sign is given, if there is a likelihood that the audience will not recognize what country is being referred to, or if a specific city, state, county, or province is being referred to, the place is indexed on a classifier that represents that region. To represent a place in North America, South America, or Central America, see dictionary below under those entries. I have not seen what classifiers are used for the other continents. Once the continent has been identified, point to the area where the region under discussion is.
DICTIONARY
(Please note that all English glosses, such as "politics" = GOVERNMENT SUPPORT refer to other items in this dictionary and not to ASL signs.
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Resources
annestapleton. (2008, July 17). Praise You With A Dance - Leslie Parra.
Performing at Cornerstone Community Church on 6/29/08: Leslie Parra from Santa Clarita Christian Fellowship, Gospel Mime praise dance.
Bar-Tzur, D.
Deaf cultures and Sign Languages of the world. Use this if the Deaf audience is from a specific country to learn the alphabet or some of the signs from that country.
Indigenous signs for cities.
Indigenous signs for countries.
Introduction to use of indigenous signs.
Deaf Volley Europe Championship 2007 on International Sign Language.
EUD.
Many of the pages have videos in IG.
Handspeak.com.Handspeak has entires for International Sign Language in its dictionary, but is available only by subscription. I do believe it is worthwhile, since the site has many interesting features.
huxiaoshu. (2008, March 30). Interview with Signmark=手语歌手Signmark（聋）做客小胡视点.
,
International bibliography of sign language.
International Sign Language.
Jones, T. R. (November 12, 2001). Gestuno.
Klopfenstein, M. (January 30, 2002) Lingua Franca in sign languages.
Monteillard, N. (2001). La langue des signes internationale - Aperçu historique et préliminaires à une description. Dans le cadre interactif de rencontres cosmopolites, les Sourds signeurs du monde entier mettent en place une stratégie de communication, la LSI (Langue des Signes Internationale), qui leur permet d’établir très rapidement entre eux un échange opérant. La LSI fut soumise, après la seconde guerre mondiale, à une tentative d’unification.
Moody, W. (1987). "International Gestures." In: van Cleve, J. V. (ed.) Gallaudet encyclopedia of deaf people and deafness. Vol. 3. S-Z,Index. New York, NY [u.a.] : McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc. - pp. 81-82.
Rubino, F., Hayhurst, A., and Guejlman, J. (1975). Gestuno. International sign language of the deaf. Carlisle: British Deaf Association.
SignPuddle. Dictionary International.
Supalla, T. and Webb, R. (1995). "The grammar of international sign: A new look at pidgin languages." In: Emmorey, K. & Reilly, J. S. (eds): Language, gesture, and space. (International Conference on Theoretical Issues in Sign Language Research) Hillsdale, N.J. : Erlbaum - pp. 333-352.
World Federation of the Deaf.
MADRID 2007 WORLD FEDERATION OF THE DEAF XV WORLD CONGRESS.
Country name-signs. Many people need to know what the name sign is for each country. This popular book is published for WFD by Japanese Federation of the Deaf (JFD); orders can be made to JFD. Publisher WFD (2003), Collection of data: Japan Institute for Sign Language Studies and Tomas Hedberg, Swedish National Association of the Deaf.
1. Österreichische Gebärdensprache im Netz.
