Sign language. A brief dictionary of sign language, how the dictionary works and how to use it Signs sign language interpreter online

There are about 120 thousand deaf people in Russia. The main language of communication for them is Russian sign language. There are less than a thousand interpreters from sign language into Russian - this profession is rare and in demand. Director of the Center for Education of the Deaf and Sign Language Anna Komarova answered uncomfortable questions about the profession.

Anna Komarova

Deaf or deaf: how to speak correctly about those who cannot hear?

It is indecent to say “deaf-mute”, because the word “deaf-mute” implies that a person cannot express himself, and the deaf have their own language - sign language. So "deaf-mute" is only used in conversations about history - for example, when we talk about the first schools for deaf children.

In English, “deaf” - Deaf - is written with a capital letter, like any other sociocultural community or nationality. The deaf themselves are proud of the word “deaf,” but various euphemisms like “a person with impaired or insufficient hearing” imply that a deaf person does not have something, although the deaf themselves consider themselves simply different, different.

We can divide the deaf community according to medical criteria into several groups:

hard of hearing, that is, those who, thanks to hearing aids, can recognize speech or hear environmental sounds;
deaf, i.e. those who have lost their hearing already having developed verbal language;
deaf.

For the first group, sign language may simply be the preferred means of communication; for the latter, it is their native or first language.

Is Russian sign language the same as Russian, only with your hands?

No. Russian Sign Language (RSL), which is spoken by deaf people, is very different from Russian; it has its own grammar and different word order. For example, the definition comes after the noun, as in French, and the negation “not” after the verb, as in German. It is as different from Russian as any foreign language. Russian Sign Language is included in the same language group as French Sign Language and American Sign Language, but British Sign Language is in a different language group.

There is also Russian language in gestures, when gestures accompany the words of Russian sentences. Sometimes it is called “tracing paper”; it used to be shown on TV, but only those who speak Russian well, most often those who are late deaf or hard of hearing, understand it. Deaf people, even those who can read newspapers freely, do not understand him. Especially if on the screen it is a small head in a circle. Russian subtitles are much better in this case.

The deaf also use the “manual” alphabet, when one gesture is not a word, but only a letter. The alphabet, which is called dactylology, is used to designate terms and proper names.

Deaf people have slang. Gestures that only one group understands. The deaf have their own slang - it may not coincide at all with Russian, however, if a word is popular on the Internet, it is also in sign language.

A Brief History of Sign Language

All modern sign languages are quite young. Russian sign language is one of the oldest in the world, dating back to the 1760s. Deaf people probably used signs before, but we don't know which ones. For example, it is known for sure that artels of deaf artists in Italy in the 16th century and in the Orphanage in Moscow in the 18th century spoke with gestures, but there are no records of the gestures themselves. In general, a national sign language appears when stable groups of deaf people appear.

But for a long time, deaf communities have struggled. In the 19th century, in the USA, in Europe and here, the Oralist movement was especially influential - those who believed that the deaf should be taught verbal language, and that the deaf should be prohibited from marrying each other. Deaf teachers were prohibited from working in schools, so hearing people taught the deaf. This was based on various religious misconceptions such as: you cannot reach God if you do not speak verbal language, or that if you use gestures, then you are a subhuman, a monkey.

Oddly enough, the idea that if you speak with your voice, you are higher on the evolutionary ladder has proven to be extremely tenacious. In one of the best schools in Moscow in the 1950s, a biology teacher (!) explained to my 16-year-old mother that those who use gestures and wave their hands gradually become covered with fur and turn into monkeys. However, other misconceptions can also be considered game: deaf people are often considered mentally disabled or simply stupid, although deafness has nothing to do with mental abilities. Unfortunately, bad translation can also be to blame for this.

The deaf felt relatively calm in 1938, a seemingly terrible time of repression, but it was then that a decree was issued that sign language should be used to teach the deaf. This is explained by the fact that during industrialization the country needed qualified personnel for factories, and high-quality education of the deaf without sign language is impossible.

Unfortunately, already in 1950, Stalin’s article “Marxism and Questions of Linguistics” was published, where sign language was called unreal, an ersatz language. After this, Russian sign language began to be banned again.

Where are sign language interpreters trained?

Since 2012 - at the Moscow State Linguistic University, at the Faculty of English. Students learn English, as well as Russian and British sign languages.

So far there have been two releases of 10 people. Of the first 5 people work with RSL. For example, one graduate is seriously involved in linguistics, went to various foreign seminars, has now received a grant from an English university and is going to write a scientific paper for several years.

Another graduate interprets for the deaf community, she also interpreted for the UN session in Switzerland and is returning today from the Deaf Olympics in Turkey.

Another one works with RSL at the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, and is engaged in art and painting by deaf artists. Two more are engaged in community interpreting, that is, they translate in any situation: for example, one of them translated for our deaf-blind people in Finland, and now she is going to Denmark... In the second issue, the guys have not yet decided.

Before MSLU, translators mostly learned the language in courses or mastered it in the family. The majority of Russian Sign Language interpreters in our country are from deaf families, most often these are the eldest hearing daughters. Another small part are missionaries or those who want to help the deaf. But knowing a language and being able to translate are very different skills. So the level of professional training is very different.

What should a sign language interpreter be able to do?

Unlike translators from other languages, working with sign language is, with rare exceptions, simultaneous interpretation: that is, you listen to verbal language and translate it into gestures or translate gestures into oral speech.

In addition, ordinary interpreters sit in a booth, no one sees them, and they are entirely focused on translating; if they make a mistake, then no one knows that this particular person made a mistake. A sign language interpreter stands on stage, and his work is evaluated by everyone who knows sign language, everyone sees his mistakes. It's not easy morally.

It is important that the specialist can interpret not only in one direction, but also understand what the deaf person is saying. It happens that due to the translator’s mistakes, due to his poor command of both sign language and literate Russian, the speech of a deaf person seems incoherent, illogical, and everyone thinks that he is stupid.

Where do sign language interpreters work?

Sign language interpreters can work in the same places as interpreters of any other languages: at conferences, universities, social institutions, and business. But for some reason, historically, it has developed in our country that a sign language interpreter is for some reason a social worker, but in Europe and the USA this problem no longer exists. Our average translator is a woman with a secondary specialized education from a deaf family, who works in the deaf community and who can do everything: she is a secretary, an accountant, a lawyer, an assistant, and makes coffee. And this is fundamentally wrong.

Those who want to help often come into the profession. For example, when we ask through questionnaires what essential qualities a translator has, they write “kindness.” Everyone writes “kindness,” but in general, a translator shouldn’t be kind, he should be a professional, attentive, accurate, but here everyone wants to advise a deaf person or make decisions for him.

Ideally, the translator should be invisible: translate so that it seems to the hearing person that the deaf person is speaking, and to the deaf person that the hearing person is speaking his language. Then the translator is really great.

A translator is needed when visiting a doctor, for any legal actions. Now we demand that everyone who works in the courts undergo mandatory certification and receive a certificate of admission to interpret in court. There are stories when translators made mistakes in translation, and this was reflected in the verdicts: on the charges and on the terms of punishment.

Translation is needed not only in court or hospital, but also in business, for example, employees of MTS and Megafon learn sign language in order to serve deaf clients. The MFC has an agreement for remote translation: the translator works via Skype with the center, the deaf client has free access to translation.

But translators are most needed in institutes and colleges, because without them it is very difficult to get an education. And now we are fighting so that deaf people can study where they want, and not where there are groups. It’s just that since Soviet times it has developed so that if you are deaf, you are doomed to study as an engineer, because at MSTU. Bauman has had special groups with an interpreter since the 1930s, but in other places they may not exist.

For example, this year one completely deaf girl entered the Moscow State Linguistic University - she wants to study linguistics, become the first certified deaf linguist, but who and under what conditions will translate all her lectures? The question is still open.

Our world is diverse. It cannot be said that there are people who are exactly alike, both externally and internally. Thus, another universe, which has its own properties, is also inhabited by those who are usually called deaf-mute people. Their perception of the environment is many times different from how a person who does not have such physical disabilities understands reality.

But it is important to note that the sign language of the deaf and dumb has the same versatility and colorfulness as that of a healthy person. The dictionary contains more than 2,000 gestures. And gesture signs are entire words, so showing and learning some of them will not be difficult.

Nonverbal sign language

Before getting into the dictionary of sign language, it would be appropriate to note that one of the misconceptions about it is that it depends on the verbal language that we use every day (sound and written) or that it supposedly originated from the latter, and even that the language of the deaf was founded by a hearing person. Moreover, it is generally accepted incorrectly that gestures of a silent language are accepted as fingerprinting of letters. That is, letters are depicted with hands. But that's not true.

In this language, dactylology is used to pronounce place names, specific terms and proper names. It is very easy to get acquainted with its basics since there is an established alphabet. And you will be able to easily communicate with a deaf-mute person by spelling out the word using gestures. Sign language for the deaf in Russian dactylology has 33 dactyl signs.

Sign language lessons

More detailed information about the language of the deaf and mute can be found in the book by G.L. Zaitseva. "Gesture speech" Let's take a more detailed look at the most common gestures.

If you are asking the question: “Do I, a healthy person, need to know such a language?”, the answer is simple - sometimes there is not a lot of knowledge, sometimes it is not in demand. But perhaps one day, thanks to them, you will be able to help, for example, a lost deaf-mute.

Sign Language Interpreter Day was established in January 2003 on the initiative of the Central Board of the All-Russian Society of the Deaf. All-Russian public organization of disabled people “All-Russian Society of the Deaf” (VOG) is the largest and oldest public organization of people with hearing disabilities in Russia, formed back in 1926.

The purpose of Sign Language Interpreter Day is to draw public attention to the problems of the deaf. For comparison, if in Finland there are 300 sign language interpreters for every thousand deaf people, then in Russia there are only three. And over time, the number of sign language interpreters is only becoming smaller. At the same time, the work of a sign language interpreter is socially invaluable for the deaf community, because he is needed in court, police, tax inspectorate, for social protection, at a doctor's appointment and so on.

Typically, sign language interpreters are children of deaf parents who grew up in a “deaf” environment. You can get an education in this specialty at training centers in St. Petersburg and Moscow.

The language that sign language interpreters “speak” on screen or with their clients is sign language, and several million people around the world communicate in it. In some countries, it has long been officially recognized and is used to adapt news programs and various programs for people with hearing problems.

By the way, on October 24, the State Duma of the Russian Federation adopted in the first reading a bill raising the status of Russian sign language. Thanks to amendments to the laws “On Education” and “On Social Protection of Disabled People in the Russian Federation,” Russian sign language is now defined as the language of communication in the presence of hearing or speech impairments, including in the areas of oral use of the state language of the Russian Federation.

The special significance of this bill is that the official recognition of the status of the Russian sign language will make it possible to create the necessary conditions in educational institutions for the hearing impaired to receive education using sign language, to build a system of training and retraining of teachers on the basis of secondary and higher vocational educational institutions, according to the website VOGinfo.ru.

How to communicate with a person in the language of the deaf?

Sign language

First, one of the major misconceptions about sign languages is the idea that they depend on or are derived from verbal languages (audio and written) and that these languages were invented by hearing people. This is wrong. Secondly, fingerprinting of letters is often mistaken for sign languages - that is, when letters are “depicted” with hands.

The difference between dactylology and sign language, which deaf people use to communicate with each other, is that dactylology is used mainly to pronounce proper names, geographical names or specific terms, that is, each word is “spelled” by hand. At the same time, sign signs represent entire words, and in total there are more than 2000 gestures in the dictionary of the deaf. Showing some of them will not be difficult.

For example:

You can study sign language in more detail using the famous book G. L. Zaitseva“Sign speech. Dactylology".

It is easier to get acquainted with the basics of dactylology - there is an established alphabet, and by spelling the word with signs, you can communicate with a deaf person. In Russian dactylology there are 33 dactyl signs, each of which corresponds to the outline of the corresponding letter.

Russian dactylic alphabet from the website deafnet.ru:

Note that a deaf or hard of hearing person will most likely understand what exactly you want to tell him without sign language, because for the most part they read lips very well.

As you know, learning a language always begins with theory. Therefore, in the first stages of learning the language of the deaf and mute, you will need to acquire self-instruction books. With their help, you will be able to study the necessary theoretical foundations that are needed to speak the language at a basic, that is, initial level. In the language of the deaf and dumb, the basics are the alphabet and the words themselves.

How to independently learn to speak the language of the deaf and mute?

If you want to learn to speak sign language, you need to have a minimum vocabulary. In the language of the deaf and dumb, almost any word can be expressed with a specific gesture. Learn the most common words people use in everyday life and learn how to pronounce simple phrases.

Special dictionaries are perfect for this purpose: the announcer shows the gesture corresponding to the word and the correct articulation. Similar dictionaries can be found on sites dedicated to learning sign language. But you can also use book-size dictionaries. True, there you will only see gestures on, and this is not such a visual way to learn words.

To speak the language of the deaf, you will also need to learn the fingerprint alphabet. It consists of 33 gestures, each of which corresponds to a specific letter of the alphabet. In conversation, the dactylic alphabet is not often used, but you still need to know it: letter gestures are used when pronouncing new words for which there are no special gestures, as well as for proper names (first names, surnames, names of settlements, etc.).

Once you have mastered the theoretical part, that is, the deaf alphabet and the basic vocabulary, you will need to find a way to communicate with native speakers, with which you will train your speaking skills.

Where can you practice sign language?

It is important to understand that learning to speak the language of the deaf without practice is an impossible task. Only in the process of real communication can you master conversational skills at such a level that you can understand sign language well and be able to communicate in it.
So, where can you talk to native sign language speakers? First of all, these are all kinds of online resources: social networks, thematic forums and specialized sites whose audience is hard of hearing or deaf people. Modern means of communication will allow you to fully communicate with native speakers without leaving your home.

You can take a more complex, but at the same time more effective path. Find out if your city has special schools for the deaf or any other communities for the hard of hearing and deaf people. Of course, a hearing person will not be able to become a full member of such an organization. But this is possible if you learn the language of the deaf and dumb not for pleasure, but in order to communicate in it with someone close to you. You can also sign up as a volunteer at a boarding school for deaf children. There you will be completely immersed in the language environment, as you will be able to truly communicate closely with native sign language speakers. And at the same time do good deeds - as a rule, volunteers are always needed in such institutions.

A short sign dictionary will help you, dear reader, master the vocabulary of sign speech. This is a small dictionary with about 200 gestures. Why were these particular gestures selected? Such questions inevitably arise, especially when the volume of the dictionary is small. Our dictionary was created in this way. Since the dictionary is intended primarily for teachers of the deaf, teachers and educators from schools for the deaf participated in determining the composition of the dictionary. For several years, the author offered students of the Moscow State University of Philology, working in boarding schools for the deaf, a list of gestures - “candidates” for the dictionary. And he turned to them with a request: to leave on the list only the most necessary gestures for a teacher and educator, and cross out the rest. But you can add to the list if required. All gestures to which more than 50% of expert teachers objected were excluded from the initial list. Conversely, the dictionary included gestures suggested by experts if more than half of them thought it was appropriate.

The gestures included in the dictionary are mainly used in both Russian sign speech and calque sign speech. They are grouped by topic. Of course, the attribution of many gestures to one topic or another is largely arbitrary. The author here followed the tradition of compiling thematic dictionaries, and also sought to place in each group gestures that denote objects, actions, and signs, so that it would be more convenient to talk on a given topic. At the same time, gestures have continuous numbering. If you, the reader, need to remember, for example, how the gesture INTERFERE is performed, and you don’t know what thematic group it is in, you need to do this. At the end of the dictionary, all gestures (naturally, their verbal designations) are arranged in alphabetical order, and the ordinal index of the INTERFERE gesture will make it easy to find it in the dictionary.

The symbols in the pictures will help you more accurately understand and reproduce the structure of the gesture.

Wishing you success in learning the vocabulary of sign speech, the author expects from you, dear reader, suggestions for improving a short sign dictionary.