Sign language is a means of communication through hand gestures and other movements, including facial expressions. This form of communication is primarily for those of hearing impairment. There is a rich diversity of sign languages throughout the world.

Australian Sign Language or Auslan is a form stemming from the “Old British Sign Language”. The current version of sign language in Australia started in the 1860s, when Auslan first split from the British sign language. More recently in the 1990s, Auslan formed the base of the current sign language used in Papua New Guinea.

Fingerspelling is a common element of Auslan, British Sign Language and New Zealand Sign Language. Because all three countries’ national language is English, when having to clarify something or to describe something with a particular word, “fingerspelling” will be used in English.

There are a number of similarities and differences between Auslan and other forms of sign language. For instance, both Auslan and British Sign Language are two-handed systems, whereas most other countries use a one-handed system.

In Europe, there are 48 different sign languages. Arguably, French Sign Language has been the most influential, with its effects seen in American, Irish and Russian Sign Language. There are approximately 100,000 native signers in French Sign Language.

Across the other side of the world, it’s estimated that anywhere from 1 million to 20 million Chinese use Chinese Sign Language, although due to sign language being discouraged until recently, this number is not known for sure. Because historically deaf Chinese attended “hearing rehabilitation centers”, Chinese Sign Language was developed with an oralist based approach.

Translationz offers many Auslan Interpreting Services. This includes providing Certified Auslan Interpreters to courts, medical appointments and business events. If you would like to learn more about our services, click here.

Mic is currently studying a Bachelor of Arts majoring in the Japanese language. He participated in an intensive language immersion in KGU’s Advanced Japanese courses in 2019 at Kwansei Gakuin University. He started his internship with Translationz in July 2020 and is assisting in many areas of business operations and translation projects.