Words in Hand

Nearly 50 years ago the Edinburgh BSL research project was set up at Moray House. This project was phenomenal because it led to the recognition of BSL as a language.

We have recordings from the project in British Sign Language which we are preserving. There are so few recordings of sign language in history. It is much easier to record now, but examples from the past are rarer. The stories and examples recorded for the project and beyond uncover the experiences of a generation of Deaf Sign Language users.

Children and young people from across Scotland attended and discovered how BSL began and about the Edinburgh BSL Project which was the first recognition of BSL as a language.

Lilian Lawson and Clark Denmark explained why their role in Edinburgh BSL project team was important. John Hay, Deaf History Scotland, delved further back into the history of BSL in the UK. We showed clips from the video tapes with commentary, and activities were distributed for the children and young people to explore the issues raised.