Editing International Sign (section)

==Vocabulary==
The lexicon of International Sign is made by negotiation between signers. IS signers reportedly use a set of signs from their own national sign language mixed with highly iconic signs that can be understood by a large audience.<ref>{{Cite book|title=International sign : linguistic, usage, and status issues|last1=Stone|first1=Christopher|last2=Russell|first2=Debra|publisher=Gallaudet Univ Press|year=2015|isbn=9781563686573|location=Washington, D.C.|chapter=Comparative Analysis of Depicting Signs in International Sign and Natural Sign Language Interpreting|oclc=936854431}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|author=European Union of the Deaf|url=https://www.eud.eu/about-us/eud-position-paper/international-sign-guidelines/|title=International Sign|website=EUD|access-date=2018-11-19|quote=Experienced IS signers try to be as independent from one specific national sign language as possible, to ensure a large audience of varied backgrounds can understand the message to the fullest extent possible.|archive-date=2018-11-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181128014325/https://www.eud.eu/about-us/eud-position-paper/international-sign-guidelines/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Many, not to say most, signs are taken from [[American Sign Language]] during the past 30 years.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|title=The linguistics of sign languages : an introduction|last=Anne|first=Baker|publisher=John Benjamins Publishing Company|year=2016|isbn=9789027212306|location=Amsterdam|pages=319|oclc=932169688}}</ref> In 1973, a committee created and standardized a system of international signs. They tried to choose the most understandable signs from diverse sign languages to make the language easy to learn for not only the Deaf but for both interim management and an everyday observer.<ref>{{Cite web|author=Signs For Humanity|url=https://www.facebook.com/signsforhumanity/posts/1896871037002347 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/facebook/1463106860378769/1896871037002347 |archive-date=2022-02-26 |url-access=limited|title=Deaf people from different countries can communicate with each other using something called International Sign!|website=[[Facebook]]|publisher=Length 1:34 minutes|date=2018-07-24|access-date=2018-11-19}}{{cbignore}}</ref> IS interpreter Bill Moody noted in a 1994 paper that the vocabulary used in conference settings is largely derived from the sign languages of the [[Western world]] and is less comprehensible to those from African or Asian sign language backgrounds.<ref>Moody, B. (1994). ''International Sign: Language, pidgin or charades?'' Paper presented at the "Issues in Interpreting 2" conference, University of Durham, Durham, April 1994. Cited in McKee R., Napier J. (2002)</ref> A 1999 study by [[Bencie Woll]] suggested that IS signers often use a large amount of vocabulary from their native language,<ref>Sutton-Spence, Rachel and Woll, Bencie. (1999) ''The Linguistics of British Sign Language: An Introduction.'' p. 32. {{ISBN|0-521-63718-X}}</ref> choosing sign variants that would be more easily understood by a foreigner.<ref>Day, Linda, (2000) ''British Sign Language in its Social Context'', [http://www.bris.ac.uk/Depts/DeafStudiesTeaching/bslsoc/Sessions/s10.htm Session 10: Language Planning and Standardisation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180807215141/http://www.bris.ac.uk/Depts/DeafStudiesTeaching/bslsoc/Sessions/s10.htm |date=2018-08-07 }}{{dash}}notes for students</ref> In contrast, Rachel Rosenstock notes that the vocabulary exhibited in her study of International Sign was largely made up of highly iconic signs common to many sign languages:<blockquote>Over 60% of the signs occurred in the same form in more than eight SLs as well as in IS. This suggests that the majority of IS signs are not signs borrowed from a specific SL, as other studies found, but rather are common to many natural SLs. Only 2% of IS signs were found to be unique to IS. The remaining 38% were borrowed (or "loan") signs that could be traced back to one SL or a group of related SLs.<ref>Rosenstock, [[Op cit]].</ref> </blockquote>International Sign has a simplified lexicon. In IS for example, the English ''who'', ''what'', and ''how'' are all translated simply to ''what''. Another example of this simplified lexicon is the location of the sign itself. IS will use movements on the chest to indicate feeling signs, and signs near the head will indicate cognitive activity.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Rosenstock|first=Rachel|date=2008|title=The Role of Iconicity in International Sign|journal=Sign Language Studies|language=en|volume=8|issue=2|pages=131–159|doi=10.1353/sls.2008.0003|s2cid=145192212|issn=1533-6263}}</ref> There have been several attempts at making dictionaries for IS. However, these lack detailed information on data collection, nor do they describe the exact meaning or how the signs should be used. This causes difficulty for training and teaching people in IS, as there is no empirical evidence.<ref name=":1" />

=== Manual alphabet ===
The manual alphabet of IS belongs to the French family of [[manual alphabet]]s, specifically in a subgroup around to the modern [[American manual alphabet]]. However, some letters differ in a few finger positions to the American alphabet.<ref name=Power2020>{{Cite journal |last1=Power |first1=Justin M. |last2=Grimm |first2=Guido W. |last3=List |first3=Johann-Mattis |date=January 2020 |title=Evolutionary dynamics in the dispersal of sign languages |url=https://pure.mpg.de/rest/items/item_3076167_3/component/file_3076168/content |journal=[[Royal Society Open Science]] |volume=7 |issue=1 |page=191100 |publisher=[[Royal Society]] |doi=10.1098/rsos.191100 |pmid=32218940 |pmc=7029929 |bibcode=2020RSOS....791100P |access-date=26 June 2020 |doi-access=free |archive-date=26 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326003415/https://pure.mpg.de/rest/items/item_3076167_3/component/file_3076168/content |url-status=live }}</ref>

IS numbers larger than five are, unlike in ASL, performed by two hands.