Product Description

British Sign Language (BSL), Britain's fourth native language, is thriving across the length and breadth of the country, and its use is spreading far beyond the members of the deaf community for whom it is the most fluent way of communicating. Increasingly, many hearing people are learning and using BSL, either because they have deaf relatives or friends or because they simply enjoy the expressive freedom of the language. 'Sign Language Companion' is intended for all BSL students. It presents signs with young people in mind, grouped in topics and linking ideas and concepts that will enable them to construct their own combinations and everyday conversations. The topics covered include: Getting to know you - Family, people and other animals - Conduct and behaviour - Sharing ideas and interests - Sharing feelings and relationships - Food and drink - Colour and time and this and that. More than 400 sign illustrations, with over a thousand entries of English translations and descriptions of variations, show the enormous diversity of this living language, and each section ends with puzzles for practice and entertainment.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #19966 in Books
• Published on: 1997-08-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 128 pages

Journal of the British Association of Teachers of the Deaf, June 1997
" .....for those planning classes, this book is a gift as the lessons plan themselves...."

Margaret Crawford Teacher of the Deaf, Garvel Deaf Centre, for the British Deaf News, July 1997
"...........This Introduction should be required reading for all beginners, especially parents, to give them an insight into what educating a deaf child really means. It is not off-putting because it is a concise summary while still covering the necessary points; i.e. deaf people don't prefer British Sign Language to English, it is essential to them as part of their learning process and for their healthy growth and development........"

'The Teacher'
"Great books to help further understanding of the language of deaf people."

Customer Reviews

Perfect for beginners
Having never attempted to learn any form of sign language prior to buying this book, I was suprised how easy it is to learn. This book, although basic, will give you an excellent understanding of British Sign Language and will enable you to get by and form basic sentences and, dare I say it, have conversations by signing. It doesn't pretend to be advanced or an oracle in its field but it really is the best book you can buy if you are starting out learning to sign.

sign language companion
this is a great book for beginners to British Sign Language. It is easy to understand with pictures and written directions. I could not have got through stage 1 without it. Very impressed.

An excellent beginners guide.
I am currently studying year one British Sign Language and found this book invaluable. It shows basic words in groups such as families or emotions making it easy to learn a complete conversation. The pictures are clear and the written descriptions on how to 'perform' each sign are easy to understand. This would be an excellent book for study and revision in preparation for the year one examination, as part of that examination is a basic conversation. It would also be an ideal book for a deaf child to learn the basic signs for everyday life. I would also recommend this book to someone who was not studying for an examination but rather just wanted to communicate with a deaf person on a day to day basis. The combination of this book and a good dictionary such as Communication Link by The Beverley School for Deaf Children would be sufficient to be able to communicate effectively with a deaf person.