Re: Esperanto Posted by kefgd on May 11, 1998 at 09:47:45:
In Reply to: Esperanto posted by George G. True III on April 16, 1998 at 07:54:00:
And did you know that there is a manual language for the Deaf similar in concept to Esperanto? One might think that gestural language would be inately universal, but sign languages have arisen independently all over the world, with their own vocabularies and grammers.
Even across the United States, Deaf communities in different parts of the country have different gestures or signs to express the same word-concept. And although Great Britain and America share English as their common written language, the Deaf in these two countries have completely different ways of representing the same 26-letter alphabet on their hands.
Thus the need for an International Sign Language and Manual Alphabet, which tried to find the most common elements of the most used sign language varieties from around the world. But just as Esperanto is not learned as a native first-language in any speaking community, this "univeral" sign language will probably remain a simple tool for diplomatic relations.
The concept of Language is universal, but it's expression will forever be personal and unique.