What is Contact Sign?

Contact Sign refers to a blend of sign language and an oral language used in situations where individuals who are deaf and those who are hearing communicate. This form of communication often arises in environments where fluent signers may need to converse with non-signers, resulting in a mixed language that incorporates elements of both ASL (American Sign Language) and the spoken language of the region.

This blending allows for more effective communication, especially when both parties may not share a complete command of the other’s language. Contact Sign may include adaptations that make it easier for hearing individuals to follow along while preserving essential aspects of sign language communication.

The other options do not effectively capture the nature of Contact Sign. A style of sign language exclusive to the deaf community does not describe the inclusive nature of Contact Sign, which emphasizes interaction between different language users. While there are forms of written sign language, Contact Sign is specifically about real-time communication rather than written forms. Additionally, while regional variants of sign language exist, Contact Sign is not limited to specific regions, as it can occur in various contexts where hearing and deaf individuals interact, regardless of location.