ABSTRACT
In most of this book the emphasis has been on looking at BSL from a linguist's point of view, and using insights from linguistics to illuminate various aspects of the structure and function of BSL. In conclusion, rather than attempt a summary in the same vein, I shall review the contents of chapters 1–8 in turn, in order to determine, conversely, what insights can be derived from BSL for linguistic theory, by which I mean the theory of language as studied in the discipline of linguistics. I shall refer to BSL specifically as much as possible, but it will be understood that the contribution of research on BSL to the theory of language is partly to be seen in the context of the accumulation of findings from research on various sign languages.
