British Sign Language: what sets it apart, and how long it takes

The sign language of Britain, unrelated to American Sign Language and mutually unintelligible with it.

ScriptNo standard written form

Speakers150k

Weeks to a working levelNot on the FSI scale. Recognised as a language by the UK government in 2003 and by law in 2022.

What sets it apart

BSL and ASL are not mutually intelligible. Two countries speaking English, two unrelated sign languages.
It uses a two-handed fingerspelling alphabet where ASL uses one hand.
Britain, Australia and New Zealand share a sign family, which is why the three are close to each other and far from the United States.
It has regional dialects, including different signs for numbers in different cities.
It was formally recognised as a language of Great Britain in 2003, and given legal status in 2022.

Where to practise it

Reading about a language is not speaking it. These are the places I would go to find someone to speak British Sign Language with.

The British Sign Language Passepartout is not out yet

Five printed pages that carry you through the arrival. Leave your address and you hear about it first, and nothing else.

Leaving takes one click.

Stories in British Sign Language

Short stories written inside a measured vocabulary, with the word lists and nothing invented for a textbook.