queerwug:

missalsfromiram:

Concept: What if there was a community that observed a prolonged period of silence, during which vocalization was forbidden, on a regular basis (say, one day a week) due to religious/cultural reasons? Such a community would undoubtedly develop a sign language if the tradition was maintained long enough. Deaf members of the community might be admired or accorded an honored status within the context of the day of silence because they would likely be viewed as having no temptation to break the silence. If religious services or ceremonies were conducted on the day of silence, a writing system for the sign language might be developed in order record the prayers and or other signed texts used throughout the day.

Regarding the relationship between the spoken and signed language, the sign language might simply be a signed mode of the spoken language, like Signed Exact English. It might be a different register or dialect of the spoken language, with a greater or lesser amount of grammatical and lexical differences. Or, it might be a completely unrelated language, as American Sign Language is to English. All of these possibilities are attested in various communities which have or historically had sign languages which were used in addition to or instead of the community’s spoken language in various contexts.

This has happened! In a lot of Australian Aboriginal languages and clans, sign languages have evolved as registers to replace dialogue in traditional avoidance relationships, for example a man is supposed to never speak directly to his mother in law, so he either communicates with her via a third person or they use sign languages. Usually the most proficient in these registers and languages are elderly women who’ve had to undergo a long mourning period, during which they aren’t allowed to speak to anyone but can communicate in sign. These women often become fluent and are able to communicate just as efficiently and clearly in sign amongst themselves as they would be able to work a spoken language.