Saturday 17 April, 1.00pm, BBC2
Repeat: Wednesday 21 April, 1.00am, BBC1

BSL SPECIAL

• BSL Timeline | Finger-spelling quiz | BSL history quiz

In the first of two fascinating programmes, Clark Denmark goes back in time to explore the evolution of British Sign Language over the past one thousand years.

Many people think that BSL is a new language, but in fact its roots stretch back for hundreds of years - if not longer. Evidence is scarce because sign language has no written form, but we start our journey in the 8th century when monks used signs to communicate. From there we jump forward in time to find the first Deaf man to have his signs recorded. His 'diverse signs' and gestures were used at his marriage in 1576.



1576: First Deaf man to have his signs recorded in the wedding registry.
We have good evidence of finger-spelling around this time, which had evolved from a form of pointing to the hands - called arthrologie - into the two-handed alphabet we see today.

TEST YOURSELF ON FINGER SPELLING!
Click here to play our quiz, in which we show you a series of photos of old and new finger-spelling for particular letters, and it's your task to guess which is which!

In 1760, the first school for the Deaf was set up, and soon there were many institutions around the country teaching in sign language and developing the regional differences in sign that are still prevalent today.



1760: lessons at the first school for the Deaf.
However, all this was to change at the conference of Milan in 1880, where educators of the Deaf gathered to discuss which was the best method of teaching Deaf children. They voted for oralism, and sign language was banished from the classroom ...



1880: voting in favour of oralism at the Milan conference.
NEXT WEEK ... we look at the impact of the Milan conference on sign language, and how it survived and developed into the BSL we see today.

BSL Special: Part 2 »