Korean "Standard Sign Language" Is Not a Sign Language

Abstract

S-K Kim (1993, 1998, 1999) and S-K Kim et al. (1991) define sign language as "a mode of communication in deaf communities; a system of symbols created or adopted by deaf people; a non-verbal language; a visuo-motor system, and not a speech systern'r'''. According to Kendon 1992, 432), "sign languages are systems of gesture used to replace speech as a mode of communication". Definitions vary from person to person. But most scholars agree that a sign language is not a system of primitive symbols, but a full-fledged natural language like any spoken language (C. Lee 1996; D-S Hwang 1998; Jackendoff 1994; Pinker 1994).