Mark Kelley, age 15, of Spokane, Wash., for his question:
WHEN WAS SIGN LANGUAGE INVENTED?
Visual signals have been used since ancient times. Such signals as moving signs, waving flags and flashing lights are used today to pass the message in special sign language. Earlier in history messages were relayed by beacon fires and smoke signals. Electronic signals have been used since the early 7800s.
When we think of sign language, we usually think of that special system of hand signs and gestures that can be used by one person to communicate with another. Many deaf people have learned to use their hands to form letters and words and thus have mastered the silent art of exchanging conversation.
A first school for the deaf was founded in Paris about 1760. Called the Abbee de Pepee, it was here that sign language using finger spelling was first taught.
Deaf people and those using hand language have as many as 9,500 signs and finger spellings available. First, there's a special signal for each letter. A V, for example, is the logical extending of the pointer finger and the one next to it in a V form. The Y is made by extending the thumb and the little finger while the other three are held down in the palm.
It may seem that the process of spelling out each letter in the word is a very slow procedure, but a person using sign language develops great speed and facility.
Signaling is another type of sign language which all people, including those who can hear, come into contact with on a regular basis. The signaling type of sign language was most likely invented back in the Stone Age when man first learned to communicate with his fellow man. The first display of this type of sign language was probably when a man stood on one side of a canyon and waved to a man on the other side.
Silent electronic sign language is all around us today. As an example, there are the changing green, yellow and red lights on traffic signals, and the bright red flashing light on a police patrol car. And how about the lights on the tall radio towers? They're sending a sign language to low flying pilots.
Another type of sign language is relayed by the use of signal flags. Called semaphore signaling, a flag is held in each hand. The sender then holds the flags in various positions that represent the letters of the alphabet. Flaghoist signals are another part of flag sign language. Here colored flags flying from a ship's mast can spell out special messages. There's a different color flag for every letter in the alphabet.