(no subject)

[deird1]

So, I knew that ASL had a different alphabet to Auslan. (Our alphabet is two-handed; ASL is one-handed.)

What I hadn't realised until today was that they have different numbers as well.

I looked up the ASL alphabet today, and found this:




As an Auslan person, that bottom row looks to me like:
0, 1, 2, 8, 4, 5, 3 ...followed by words I don't know.


No larger point. I just find it interesting that counting can be so different in different countries.

Comments

[deird1]

Yep! I knew that most of the signs were different - but you expect at least a few to be so obvious that clearly they'd be the same...

[velvetwhip]

It's weird that ASL and Auslan are foreign languages to each other when Americans and Australians both speak English.


Gabrielle

[deird1]

As I understand it, Auslan developed out of British sign (so did New Zealand sign), whereas ASL is from Irish sign. Totally different language groups.

[velvetwhip]

Ah. Well I learned something new today.


Gabrielle

[angelikitten]

I thought ASL developed from the French Sign Language (LSF)?

[deird1]

By way of Ireland, I believe...

[shehasathree]

Some linguistics refer to the BANZSL (British, Aus+NZ Sign Language) language group (or even consider each a dialect of the same language). American Sign Language is completely unrelated. It just happens to share a writing system with a bunch of other (English( Sign Languages.