Signing the arts

There are almost 7,000 languages in existence in the world. While most languages are spoken, there are several hundred differentsign languages in use in the world. If you can hear, you probably rarely think of the implications of being deaf and communicating primarily through sign language. If you're deaf, you'll realise only too well that there are many situations where communication is only spoken, leaving those who use sign language excluded.

The arts are one area where deaf people are often excluded, particularly in theatre and music. While subtitles are often available for films and for music videos, live performances can be totally inaccessible for deaf people. However, there are people looking to change this. In the world of theatre, there are companies such as Deafinitely Theatre, a deaf-led theatre company who put on productions in both English and British sign language. As well as allowing deaf people to see theatre produced in their own language, they allow deaf actors a chance to shine, and help raise awareness about deaf culture and signing. It would seem that they still have work to do - while many people are keen to come to the UK to learn English, for example, few consider learning British sign language (try comparing the results of putting English school London into a search engine, with those for BSL school London).

In the world of music, signing can help build bridges between the deaf and the hearing. Glastonbury Festival has a signing scheme to provide translators for certain acts - with those translated chosen by deaf festivalgoers themselves. Deaf people feel music rather than hearing it, so signing of music is a highly expressive task, translating for the deaf not just the lyrics, but the emotional layers and rhythms in the music. Perhaps, if signing in the arts continues to grow, more and more hearing people may want to learn sign language themselves. The good news is that it's relatively easy to do so when compared with some other forms of learning: for those wanting to study an intensive English course Oxford, London or Brighton might be the only places to be, whereas learning sign language can be done easily and cheaply online.