|
|
Origins of Gestuno
International Sign Language (Gestuno) is a constructed sign language, which the World Congress of the World Federation of the Deaf originally discussed in 1951. In 1973, a committee created and standardized a system of international signs. They tried to choose the most understandable signs from diverse sign languages to make the language easy to learn.The commission published a book with about 1500 signs. It does not have a concrete grammar, so some say that it is not a real language.
The name "Gestuno" is from Italian, meaning "the unity of sign languages." Some deaf people use Gestuno at the World Games for the Deaf and the Deaf Way Conference and Festival in Washington, DC, but besides that its use is very limited.
The need to communicate is universal. For those within the deaf community, the need to communicate in sign is universal. Just as there are languages in the world, there are thousands upon thousands of different signed languages, each with its own "accent" and "dialect." Every different sign language is a reflection of its past, the culture in which it expanded, and the mores of its society. So what do you do when you try to gather together people of the deaf communities from all four corners of the globe? You devise an international sign language that all are capable of learning and understanding.
As early as 1951, at a gathering of the World Congress of the World Federation of the Deaf, the idea of "unifying" the sign languages was being discussed (handspeak.com). They realized that having hundreds of interpreters at every event just wasn't feasible. So around 1973 a committee was given the task to devise and standardize a system of international gestures. The Commission on Unification of Signs of the World Federation of the deaf then issued a book of almost 1500 signs, chosen or invented by them and they called the new basic international vocabulary "Gestuno." The name is Italian and roughly translated means "oneness of sign languages".
Within the World Federation of the Deaf, their official languages, English and French, are still used for documentation and correspondence. Yet in general assemblies and within the bureau, Gestuno is still used. It is still not known though, if everyone fully understands the language. Inside the bureau, Gestuno is far more defined. Members with a broad cultural understanding have been able to communicate many concrete principles as well as abstract ideas. Gestuno is still used at the World Games for the Deaf and at the DEAF WAY Conference and Festival in Washington, D.C., but other than that, its use is very limited.
Like "Esperante," the idea of unifying sign language hasn't been as prolific as the Commission first intended. There just are not that many people that have been willing to learn the new language. And with the highly developed translating devices of today and the skilled hands of international translators, who would really want to take the time to learn a language no one else knows (Moody 81)?