home sign: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
LowAcademic / Technical
Quick answer
What does “home sign” mean?
A visual-gestural communication system spontaneously created by a deaf child who lacks exposure to a conventional sign language, typically within a hearing family.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
A visual-gestural communication system spontaneously created by a deaf child who lacks exposure to a conventional sign language, typically within a hearing family.
A set of gestures and signs, often limited in complexity, used for communication within a household where a deaf individual does not have access to a full sign language. In broader linguistic terms, it refers to any systematic, conventionalized gestural system that develops in isolation from a pre-existing language community.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant difference in meaning or spelling. The concept is discussed identically in both UK and US linguistics.
Connotations
Neutral technical term in both varieties. No regional connotations.
Frequency
Equally low frequency and specialist in both varieties, confined to academic fields like linguistics, deaf studies, and psychology.
Grammar
How to Use “home sign” in a Sentence
[child/family] + develop(s)/use(s) + home signhome sign + [develops/emerges] + [in isolation/within a family]communicate + with/through + home signVocabulary
Collocations
Examples
Examples of “home sign” in a Sentence
verb
British English
- The family began to home-sign to communicate with their deaf toddler.
- They were home-signing for years before discovering BSL.
American English
- The parents learned to home-sign with their child.
- Researchers observed the child home-signing during play.
adverb
British English
- Not applicable. 'Home sign' is not used adverbially.
American English
- Not applicable. 'Home sign' is not used adverbially.
adjective
British English
- They developed a home-sign vocabulary for everyday objects.
- The home-sign system showed surprising complexity.
American English
- The study focused on home-sign development in isolated communities.
- She documented the home-sign gestures used by the family.
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
Not applicable.
Academic
Common in linguistics, psychology, and deaf studies research papers. Example: 'The study compared the grammatical structure of home sign to Nicaraguan Sign Language.'
Everyday
Virtually never used in general conversation. Might be used in very specific contexts involving families with deaf children.
Technical
The primary context. Used precisely to describe a specific phenomenon of language creation in the absence of linguistic input.
Vocabulary
Synonyms of “home sign”
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms of “home sign”
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “home sign”
- Using 'home sign' to refer to casual gestures used by hearing people at home (e.g., pointing).
- Capitalising it as a proper noun (it is not a language name like 'British Sign Language').
- Confusing it with 'baby sign', which is a taught system for hearing infants.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Home sign is a systematic communication system with some language-like properties, but linguists do not classify it as a full language. It lacks the complexity, stability, and broad community of users that define established languages like British or American Sign Language.
A sign language (e.g., BSL, ASL) is a complete, natural language with a rich grammar and lexicon, used by a community of deaf people over generations. Home sign is an idiosyncratic system created by an individual or family in linguistic isolation, is not passed down, and is typically more limited.
Yes, historically. When many deaf individuals using different home signs come together (e.g., in a new school), their systems can merge and conventionalize into a new, full sign language over generations, as famously happened with Nicaraguan Sign Language.
Typically not. The term specifically refers to systems developed by deaf individuals lacking accessible language input. Hearing people might use gestures or 'family signs', but these are not considered 'home sign' in the technical sense.
A visual-gestural communication system spontaneously created by a deaf child who lacks exposure to a conventional sign language, typically within a hearing family.
Home sign is usually academic / technical in register.
Home sign: in British English it is pronounced /ˈhəʊm saɪn/, and in American English it is pronounced /ˈhoʊm saɪn/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “There's no direct idiom, but related phrases include 'invent a language' or 'create a private code'.”
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of a 'home' where they 'sign'—it's the sign language made at home, not learned from a wider community.
Conceptual Metaphor
LANGUAGE IS A CONSTRUCTED TOOL (built from available materials in one's environment).
Practice
Quiz
What is the primary characteristic of a 'home sign' system?