SeaSigns Methods (criteria for choice of sign languages, words, and signs)

How did you choose the words?

SeaSigns chose words that could be used in the widest variety of ways in the widest variety of underwater circumstances.

Example: Line – We chose line to represent everything the thickest cable through rope to the thinnest monofilament fishing line.

We also wanted signs that could be used with the least amount of effort for the signer and the least amount of misunderstanding for the reader. Choosing a sign for "over" could be frustrating and even potentially a problem,if the correct word is not
chosen.

Example: Again – For again we rejected the word “over” . “Over” can mean several words that might be used underwater including above, across, and finished or ended. Each of these meanings of “over” have their own sign so if signers learn to associate the sign with the appropriate word they do not have to go through a long list of signs for “over” to find the appropriate one for the circumstances.

Why didn’t you use the Universal Sign Language?

There is no such thing as the Universal Sign Language. The last time we checked 114 recognized deaf sign languages in the world were listed. These languages are used by varying numbers of people.

What sign language(s) did you use and why?

SeaSigns products and methods are based on two sign languages that are closely related. All the letters that make up the alphabet and many of the signs are one-handed unlike many other sign languages, such as British Sign Language (BSL) that is primarily two-handed.

• American Sign Language (ASL): the most widely used sign language in the United States and Canada by both the hearing impaired and the hearing populations. We used ASL for the source of most of our signs. Signs represent words, phrases, or concepts.
• Signed English: a signing system using one sign to represent one English word. Many signs are very similar or the same as those in ASL. We used signed English if we could discover no applicable ASL sign.

How widely used is American Sign Language?

It is the third most widely used of any language in the United States. It is also used in a variety of foreign countries.

Where did American Sign Language come from?

Thomas Gaullaudet hired Laurent Clerc, a deaf Frenchman, as the first teacher of the first permanent deaf school in the United States in 1817. Even today, statistically about 43% of the signs for the English and French languages are similar, while ASL has little in common with British Sign Language.

What criteria did SeaSigns use to select the signs?

• Best express the meanings of the words
• Are easy to make and read underwater in full gear
• Are easy to learn and remember
• Can be made 1-handed, when sign available
• Are most like a widely used dive sign, if the sign is not considered obscene

Why don't you use the signs used by the certifying agencies?

We do use the signs for up, down, OK, and out of air upon which agencies and sign language books seem to agree. For other signs we chose ASL, so the largest number of people could understand the signs. If you check the manuals of the different certifying agencies you will find different agencies may:

• Use different signs for the same word.
• Make the same sign somewhat differently.
• Have signs that are not used by any other agency.

Are you saying we should not use the signs our agency taught us?

No, not at all! If you and your buddy were taught signs by the same certifying agency, by all means use the signs you learned. Just remember to communicate to your buddy before the dive what signs you will be using. You may have occasion to dive with divers who were trained differently than you were.

If you are both trained in the American Sign Language signs chosen by SeaSigns you can communicate under the water even if you were not trained by the same organization or do not even speak the same language on the surface!

Why does a sign for a particular word SeaSigns uses not agree with the sign shown in my sign language dictionary?

Like English, ASL is a living language that is changing through time and has regional variations. The various sign language dictionaries of different sizes written at a variety of different times for a variety of purposes reflect this. In larger dictionaries you may find several signs for the same word. Even dictionaries that appear to use the same sign for the same word may describe how to make the sign differently, if they describe how to make it at all.

I could not find the sign in my dictionary. Where did you find it?

Not all signs are in all dictionaries or other signing books. We looked in all the references we had available at the time and asked the nationally certified interpreter who approved all our signs. If we could discover no ASL or Signed English signs for a word or we could not find a “nice” alternative for a previously “nice” sign that is now considered obscene, SeaSigns, with the interpreter’s help, invented a sign.

What criteria did you use to invent a sign?

We used the principals of ASL for the invention of a sign. These are that the sign either express something about the form or function of the item or action being described. All invented signs were subject to the same approval process as all other signs.

For example: Since SeaSigns could find no sign for the nudibranch, we considered what a nudibranch is, how it often looks, and how it moves. The simplest description of a nudibranch is a snail without a shell that often has its gills on its back. We took the part of the sign for snail that does not change in a nudibranch and used it. That part is the left hand palm down with the index and middle finger extended moving slowly forward. Instead of the second hand covering the first hand as in snail, we turned the second hand upside down to simulate the nudibranchs (exposed gills).

Why were the signers using mask and regulator when showing how to make the signs?

Facial expressions are a part of day-to-day signing above the surface of the water. Obviously expressions are not generally visible while diving. SeaSigns had the signers wear the mask and regulator to make the conditions of teaching the signs most like those divers will encounter diving.

Sign Approval

A nationally certified sign language interpreter who is also a certified diver approves all signs, no matter what their derivation.

Finish Reading FAQs

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Become a certified SeaSigns instructor now!

Click on Contact Us to contact SeaSigns about signing up to become an instructor and receive a FREE UnderWater Safety Signing DVD with Instructor Class Sign-up.

The video contains 24 safety signs not found on Fun & Safety Signing. The video demonstrates signs both with BARE HANDS and with MITTENS ON. The PDF file contains further information about the 24 new signs. The set is especially useful for those who dive in COLD water or are in SAFETY related fields The extra signs it contains are Tired; Vomit; Stay; Tight, tighten; Belt, Surge; Mask; Fin; Connect; Lose, lost; Buddy; Cramp; Toilet; Heavy; Suit; Hose; Computer; Give; Open; Foot; Meter; Pound; Bar [metric system unit for measuring air pressure].)

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