ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the reasons sign language may be a universal. It focuses on the reasons against this notion. It would not be difficult to develop a universal language, for these signs imitate a figure or an event so well that they can be easily understood. The sign for drinking that seemed so simple in monastic language—thumb approaching lips, fist tilted like an upraised bottle—may be expressed very differently by American Indians, Australians, Spaniards, or Italians. These signs, which are relatively simple and imitative, and simulate certain activities, may vary considerably. signs made with the hand generally transmit information: They refer to bread or vegetables, drinking or eating, singing or sleeping, and communicate the intentions of the person "talking" in sign language. However, the body motions performed at the same time are not merely informative. In general, they characterize the forms of communication typical of a society or a whole epoch.
