British Sign Language LGBTQ+ Glossary developed by 果冻影院 researchers

18 January 2024

A new glossary of British Sign Language LGBTQ+ vocabulary, developed by 果冻影院 researchers and charity Deaf Rainbow UK, is featured on the BBC鈥檚 latest Access All: Disability News and Mental Health podcast.

Funded by a grant from 果冻影院鈥檚 LGBTQ+ Equality Implementation Group, the project set out to develop a British Sign Language Glossary with more terminology for the LGBTQ+ community.听

The project team, which consisted of Dr Kate Rowley, Dr Patrick Rosenburg, Dr Tyron Woolfe and Calum Medlock (果冻影院 Deafness Cognition and Language Research Centre), worked closely with the charity to propose over 109 words for development into BSL, so that the language can catch up with how much vocabulary has changed among the hearing community.

The 20 words and phrases that were developed were: Ally, Attraction, Bicurious, Bisexual, Cisgender, Gay, Gender, Lesbian, Monogamy, Open Relationship, Panromantic, Pansexual, Polyamorous, Questioning, Sexuality, Sexually Fluid, Straight, Throuple, Transman and Transwoman.听

The project group consulted with Deaf and LGBTQ+ focus groups and the proposed signs were shared with the Deaf LGBTQ+ community at 果冻影院 for feedback.听

Once refined, the 20 words and phrases were launched on the , with videos demonstrating the individual signs. An evening of Deaf Drag Bingo (using the new signs and not numbers) followed to celebrate the launch.听听

Dr Rosenburg described the impact an inclusive British Sign Language can have for Deaf LGBTQ+ people. He explained how developing the right vocabulary can allow Deaf LGBTQ+ people to engage more easily with others, helping to better understand themselves and their community.听

Like with spoken language, the signs are not considered 鈥榦fficial鈥� until they are widely used. At this point they may be added to an official dictionary.听

Speaking on , Dr Patrick Rosenburg said: 鈥淭he thing about language planning and using new vocabulary is that you can鈥檛 force people to adopt this. Language has to evolve organically. So, you can have language planning strategies to create new signs, but there鈥檚 no guarantee those signs will be taken up positively by the community.鈥澨�

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Top: Launch of LGBTQ+ BSL Glossary (credit: DCAL)听
Bottom: Launch of LGBTQ+ BSL Glossary (credit: DCAL)听

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