What is the Difference Between Sign Language and Spoken Language?

The main difference between sign language and spoken language lies in their modalities, or the physical means through which they convey information. Here are the key differences between the two:

• Modalities: Spoken language uses the oral-auditory modality, which involves producing sounds with the vocal tract and understanding them with the hearing sense. In contrast, sign language uses the visual-gestural modality, which relies on the purposeful movement and framing of the hands, as well as facial expressions and body movements.
• Linguistic Properties: Both sign language and spoken language are full forms of language, with complex linguistic patterns and the ability to convey a wide range of information. However, sign languages are separate and distinct from spoken languages, with unique vocabularies, grammars, and linguistic structures.
• Language Development: The development of sign languages in different countries and regions has led to the emergence of distinct sign languages, such as American Sign Language (ASL), British Sign Language (BSL), and others. Spoken languages also have numerous variations, but they share more commonalities than sign languages.
• Brain Processing: Despite their physical differences, both spoken and sign languages are processed similarly in the brain, demonstrating similar linguistic patterns and cognitive abilities.

In summary, sign language and spoken language differ primarily in their modalities, with sign language using visual-gestural cues and spoken language relying on oral-auditory means. Both types of languages share similar linguistic properties and brain processing mechanisms, but they have distinct structures and development paths.

Comparative Table: Sign Language vs Spoken Language

Here is a table outlining the differences between sign language and spoken language:

Both sign language and spoken language are full forms of language, but they use different forms of physical expression, known as modalities. Sign language uses the visual-gestural modality, relying on purposeful movement and framing of the hands, facial expressions, and body movements to convey meaning. In contrast, spoken language uses the oral-auditory modality, which is based on the sounds that humans can produce with their vocal tracts and understand with their ears. Despite their physical differences, both languages have complex linguistic patterns and give people the same rich communicative ability.