One common myth is that sign language is the same everywhere. In reality, sign languages are not universal. Different countries have their own sign languages, each with its own vocabulary and grammar. For example, sign languages used in the UK, the USA, and Taiwan use completely different signs for everyday concepts like “sister”. This shows that sign languages developed independently in different communities, just like spoken languages do.

Another widespread belief is that sign languages are simply spoken languages produced with the hands. Linguists have shown this isn’t true. Sign languages often have grammatical structures that are very different from the surrounding spoken languages. They weren’t invented by a single person, either. Instead, research suggests that whenever Deaf people come together and form a community, a sign language naturally emerges.

Some people think sign languages are just exaggerated gestures or mime. While it’s true that some signs visually resemble what they mean, sign languages have large vocabularies made up of specific signs, along with clear grammatical rules. Many signs don’t look like their meanings at all and must simply be learned – just like spoken words.

There’s also a misconception that sign languages can’t express complex ideas. In fact, they are fully capable of conveying technical and abstract concepts such as “culture”, “discrimination”, and “philosophy”. Anything that can be said in a spoken language can also be expressed in a sign language.

Research in neuroscience adds further evidence. Studies show that signed and spoken languages are processed in similar areas of the brain. In particular, the left hemisphere—long associated with language is crucial for both speaking and signing. When deaf people experience brain damage, they show language difficulties that closely resemble those seen in hearing speakers with similar injuries.

Language development follows the same pattern too. Deaf children who grow up with signing parents acquire sign language just as naturally as hearing children learn spoken language. They typically produce their first signs around their first birthday and begin combining signs into short phrases by about age two.

Another mistaken idea is that sign languages can’t be “real” languages because they don’t have a writing system. But many spoken languages around the world also have no written form, and no one doubts that they are real languages.

Finally, sign languages are deeply connected to deaf culture and identity. They allow deaf people to express who they are and to participate fully in their communities. Greater understanding and recognition are needed—not only of sign languages themselves, but also of the linguistic human rights of deaf people to access sign languages from childhood and to use them freely in everyday life.