Rebecca Manzi 400 new signs to allow deaf people to participate in discussions regarding climate change: the English project
British Sign Language is adapting to the new vocabulary of climate change, enabling deaf people to discuss the environment. The signs have been developed by experts including deaf scientists and educators at the University of Edinburgh, which created 400 new signs for environmental science terms.
This project was funded by the Royal Society and carried out at the Scottish Sensory Centre. The aim is to attempt to present graphic representations of the more abstract concepts like greenhouse gases, carbon footprint, and sustainability. Designing signs for abstract concepts involves detailed knowledge of scientific processes.
Examples of new signs
For example, the sign for “greenhouse gases” iconically depicts the interaction of the gases with sunlight: the hands form circles for the gases, then subsequent movements mime the reflection and bouncing of sunlight on the Earth’s surface.
Similarly, the sign for “carbon footprint” does not translate the English metaphor directly but depicts graphically the carbon emission. The left hand forms a “C” for carbon while the right hand shows the release of the emission with movements depicting the level of the same. In the concept of “carbon offsetting”, the same “C” shape is formed but then the act of reducing carbon levels in the atmosphere is depicted.
The sign for “climate change” takes in “climate” and adds a rotation with the hands to denote a shift in weather patterns over time. Speed reflects rate of change.
Other terms include “carbon sequestration,” which is a downward motion, showing the capture and storage of CO₂, and “sustainability,” which shows a balanced and stable system. The sign for “tipping point” is a critical and irreversible change in environmental systems, with facial expressions added for emphasis.
The project helps enhance the vocabulary of BSL, and on top of that, it helps include the deaf community in some of the most important discussions on the future of the planet. Each sign has been designed, tested, and approved so that quite complex scientific concepts are clear in an instant.
