Words are capable of inspiring action, forging connections and deepening our knowledge. And when we lack vocabulary in our own language? We borrow it from another, although nuance can be lost in translation. The British Sign Language (BSL) had to do just that for a long time, resorting to finger-spelling certain terms in the absence of visual representations for them.
But it’s catching up quickly. In 2024, signs for ‘global warming’, ‘deforestation’ and another 200 terms related to energy, sustainability and environmental impact were created. They are part of a second round of an online glossary, which launched in 2023.
Now, a total of 400 signs have been developed by scientists, educators and sign linguists from the project at the University of Edinburgh’s Scottish Sensory Centre to make the topic more accessible for the deaf community, particularly for children. They build on a base of scientific words extracted from GCSE and A-Level courses that have been developed into signs by the team since 2007.
