SIGN LANGUAGE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does sign language mean? 

• SIGN LANGUAGE (noun)
  The noun SIGN LANGUAGE has 1 sense:

1. language expressed by visible hand gestures

  Familiarity information: SIGN LANGUAGE used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SIGN LANGUAGE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Language expressed by visible hand gestures

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

sign language; signing

Hypernyms ("sign language" is a kind of...):

language; linguistic communication (a systematic means of communicating by the use of sounds or conventional symbols)

Meronyms (parts of "sign language"):

sign (a gesture that is part of a sign language)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "sign language"):

finger spelling; fingerspelling (an alphabet of manual signs)

American sign language; ASL (the sign language used in the United States)

 Context examples 

The brain activity rhythms in the visual cortex followed the rhythms of sign language.

(The Rhythms of Sign Language, NSF)

While the natural rhythms in spoken language are similar to what might be considered the preferred frequency for the auditory cortex, this is not true for sign language and the visual cortex.

(The Rhythms of Sign Language, NSF)

That's where the University of Chicago team saw an experimental opportunity involving sign language.

(The Rhythms of Sign Language, NSF)

Importantly, the researchers observed entrainment at the low frequencies that carry meaningful information in sign language, not at the high frequencies usually seen in visual activity.

(The Rhythms of Sign Language, NSF)