Should there be a universal sign language?

[MarxSchmarx]

This piece of news got me thinking:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14656983

Should there be a common sign language across the globe? Sign language is frequently taught in institutional settings rather than at home, and thus unlike languages that are transmitted within the family there seems to be a unique opportunity to develop a globally commonly understood language. Superficially, I find this to be a beautiful promise, if deaf children from Kamchatka to Angola to Nicaragua have a common language. But I can see the concerns that over-ride a lot of the local variants that developed organically, and the information that is lost in standardizing it; indeed a lot of the concerns about how oral languages are being lost may carry over into the diverse array of sign languages. So I frankly see good arguments to both sides. What do comrades here think?

[Per Levy]

absoloutly yes, i was stuned when i first heard that there isnt a universal sign language.

[Die Neue Zeit]

But I can see the concerns that over-ride a lot of the local variants that developed organically, and the information that is lost in standardizing it; indeed a lot of the concerns about how oral languages are being lost may carry over into the diverse array of sign languages. So I frankly see good arguments to both sides. What do comrades here think?

I think, comrade, that any benefits outweigh the problems of standardization. Morse Code wasn't developed "organically." It goes hand in hand with Morse Code, the International Phonetic Alphabet, and other standardized communications.

[Devrim]

I think Makaton is universal. I used to sign pretty well well I was a child, but I have lost virtually all of it now.

Devrim

[rundontwalk]

That's be pretty cool, even for non-deaf people. Sort of like how the Plains Indians used to communicate with one another.

[not your usual suspect]

A universal sign language would be great. Problems though include who is going to decided which language. States and bureaucrats. They already impose themselves in the lives of deaf children far more than non-deaf children. We don't need more interference. I don't have a solution as to how to bring about a universal sign language (or any other universal language) in the current world situation. But I can't endorse state enforced anything.

[Fawkes]

I think it would be great, but I think it would be incredibly difficult to actually come up with. From my understanding, sign languages generally follow the same structure as the spoken languages they are imitating. Even closely related languages like spanish and english are structured (very) differently, I imagine this issue is only exacerbated when comparing something like english with a non-romance/germanic language because it has to be remembered that individuals that sign generally read/write in the spoken language they're imitating.

[Lanky Wanker]

I actually found it quite a surprise that British and American sign language is different when I was looking into it a while back. Considering we speak the same language I thought it would make sense to speak the same sign language too. I think that America and the UK should at least have the same sign language, as well as other English speaking countries which don't.