Non Verbal Language

It may not be the first thought, but there are forms of language that require no speaking, and no writing. It can be as simple as a facial expression, or as complex as Sign Language. At first glance, most people just see "signing," the equivalent of speaking and assume that the hand-signs directly represent a simplification of the language in that country. There are many people who even fail to stop and think that Sign Language is just as rich and complex as any other language. In fact, there are many different signs, each having a base, such as Spanish, British, American, German, and French.

For example, British Sign Language (BSL) uses two hands to form the letters of the alphabet while American Sign Language (ASL) uses one (NIDCD, 2012). Despite that the UK and the US share a spoken language their sign language is similar to the difference of Chinese and Greek. This difference is due to how ASL developed its signing system from France (NIDCD, 2012). Space i.e., the area in front of the signer is used for syntax. Facial expressions and body gesture represent are used together to form meaning (Liddell, 2003). If you were to keep them in one spot, it may be interpreted as a humongous complicated and technical word. That space in front of the signer is just as vital as the spaces between words in most languages.

At homes in deaf communities, a different sign (a "type" of sign language) is used at home. This is called a home sign (NIDCD, 2012) and many families have their own. An interesting fact about these communities is that if you put several of the children with their own sign and no knowledge of any other sign in the same room, they will develop a new sign language to communicate with each other. ASL also has accent. Depending on where the signer lives, the location or space where they sign, i.e., height, will differ (Walker, 1987).

Everyone has a different way of signing, reflecting everything about their personality(NIDCD, 2012) just like how yours is revealed when you speak. Your culture, will reflect how fast you sign, just like in many countries the rate of speaking is far more elevated than in English(Liddell, 2003). Unfortunately you can't use ASL in Mexico and many other countries. A simple sign for mother, could be a nasty pejorative in another. I leave you with a video from Expert Village on a few basic expressions in ASL.

Sources
Walker, L. A. (1987). A loss for words: The story of deafness in a family. (p. 30). New York: Harper Perennial.
Liddell, Scott K. (2003). Grammar, Gesture, and Meaning in American Sign Language. Cambridge University Press.
American sign language. (2011, June). Retrieved from http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/pages/asl.aspx
Basic words in sign language. [Print Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.deafedge.com/image-files/basic-words-in-sign-language-hello.jpg