British Sign Language

The primary sign language used by deaf communities in the United Kingdom, recognized as an official language under the British Sign Language Act 2022. BSL is distinct from American Sign Language (ASL) and other sign languages, with its own grammar, syntax, and vocabulary. A key difference is that BSL fingerspelling uses both hands to represent letters, while ASL uses one hand. BSL has its origins in early European sign languages dating back centuries and is used by an estimated 150,000 people in the UK as their first or preferred language.