British Sign Language

British Sign Language

British Sign Language Interpreter and Translator Services

It may use motions and gestures instead of spoken words, but sign language is essentially just a language like any other. As with any spoken language, there are times when businesses and organisations need a British sign language Interpreter.

About BSL

A lot of people believe that British Sign Language (BSL) is essentially a direct analogue of English, meaning that each word has been replaced by a gesture but otherwise things are essentially the same. In fact, there is a lot more to it than that; it is a fully-fledged language with its own separate rules of grammar. BSL is fully, officially recognised as a language in its own right, and is the first language for roughly 100,000 individuals in the UK. Most of these have hearing difficulties, but some have speech problems and therefore find that sign language is their best method of communicating with the outside world.

Some people who have BSL as their first language can understand spoken English – for example through lip reading – and some cannot, and similarly some are also able to speak and some are not. When such an individual either cannot understand spoken English or cannot speak themselves, the only way to effectively communicate is through having somebody who speaks their language present such as a BSL interpreter.

Interpreters for British Sign Language

A BSL interpreter or sign language translator will essentially perform the same job as any other translator, and will make communicating with a BSL “native speaker” possible. One difference is that a BSL interpreter may only have to translate one-way instead of interpreting everything that is said by either party. This may be the case, for example, if somebody is able to lip read or hear spoken English fine but is unable to communicate verbally and uses sign language instead.

Whether the interpretation is for the benefit of one or both parties, like any other professional translator a British Sign Language interpreter will offer professional, accurate and rapid translation between spoken English and BSL, allowing communication to proceed as naturally and smoothly as possible. This can be invaluable for a wide range of situations including business meetings, conferences, and public talks or performances in which those who communicate through BSL must be accommodated alongside those who use spoken English.

Aqua Interpreting Group can provide professional, reliable, expert interpreters for a wide range of languages, and this includes BSL. Our BSL translators have a full, fluent grasp of sign language including its unique rules of grammar and sentence structure as well as all of the subtleties and colloquialisms that are familiar to those who use BSL as their main language. This means they can provide a complete, accurate, and rapid translation, virtually in real time.

For more information about our interpretation services for BSL or for any other language, please get in touch.