Forest Books: Frances Elton And Linda Squelch London And South East Regional Signs

London attracts Deaf people from all over Britain who often teach BSL using signs from other regions.  This book focuses on over 300 signs used frequently in conversation that are used in London and the South East and differ from other regions.

It helps to know some signing because photos showing signs in two dimensions with arrows may not be meaningful to complete beginners who will require more information about placement and movement.  However if you are able to sign, you will recognise how the signs are produced and be able to see the difference between them and signing elsewhere.

The authors are native users of sign language in the south of England and come from families with Deaf  members.  Frances lectures in Sign Linguistics in the Department of Deafness Cognition and Language, University College London.  Linda teaches BSL in various locations including Dunstable and Hackney.

The book is slim and easy to navigate with English translations at the back in alphabetical order.  The photos are of native signers brought up in the South East and show clearly mouth patterns and facial expressions to be used with each sign.