Editing International Sign (section)

== Description ==
International Sign has been described as a highly variable type of signed communication used between two signers who lack a common sign language.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Green|first=E. Mara|date=2014|title=Building the tower of Babel: International Sign, linguistic commensuration, and moral orientation|journal=Language in Society|volume=43|issue=4|pages=445–465|doi=10.1017/S0047404514000396|s2cid=147662111|issn=0047-4045}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last1=Hiddinga|first1=Anja|last2=Crasborn|first2=Onno|date=2011|title=Signed languages and globalization|url=https://pure.uva.nl/ws/files/1155047/104594_Hiddinga_Crasborn2011.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170923105835/https://pure.uva.nl/ws/files/1155047/104594_Hiddinga_Crasborn2011.pdf |archive-date=2017-09-23 |url-status=live|journal=Language in Society|volume=40|issue=4|pages=483–505|doi=10.1017/S0047404511000480|s2cid=14010408|issn=0047-4045}}</ref> Most experts do not technically consider IS to be a full language,<ref name=":2" /> but rather a form of communication that arises on the spot.<ref name=":3" /> It is characterized by a focus on [[Iconicity|iconic]] or [[pantomimic]] structures; IS signers may also point to nearby objects.<ref name=":3" /> While some degree of standardization takes place at events such WFD and the [[European Union of the Deaf]], it is limited to vocabulary, not grammar.<ref name=":3" />

There is no consensus on what International Sign is exactly. It may either refer to the way strangers sign with each other when they lack a common sign language, or it can refer to a conventionalized form used by a group of people with regular contact.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=International sign : linguistic, usage, and status issues|last=Whynot|first=Lori|date=2015|publisher=Gallaudet Univ Press|isbn=9781563686573|location=Washington, D.C.|chapter=Telling, Showing, and Representing: Conventions of the Lexicon in International Sign Expository Text|oclc=936854431}}</ref> The use of the term ''International Sign'' might also lead to the misconception that it is a [[Standard language|standardized]] form of communication.<ref name=":1" />

Deaf people typically know only one sign language.<ref name=":3" /> Signers from differing countries may use IS spontaneously with each other, with relative success.<ref name=":3" /> This communicative success is linked to various factors. First, people who sign in IS have a certain amount of shared contextual knowledge. Secondly, signers may take advantage of shared knowledge of a spoken language, such as English. Thirdly, communication is made easier by the use of iconic signs and pantomime.<ref name=":3" />