Topic 1 – Brief history of sign language

Sign language has been used for as long as Deaf people have lived together. Ancient Greek writings, such as those by Plato around 400 BCE, show that Deaf people communicated using hand movements.

Formal sign languages developed naturally within Deaf communities, especially when Deaf people gathered in schools from the 16th to 18th centuries in Europe. This led to established languages like British Sign Language (BSL) and French Sign Language, which later influenced others around the world.