Hey hey disclaimer I am not an expert, if you're interested in learning your local sign language you should research it and maybe find a class! They are unique and insanely interesting languages I very much recommend (Plus you get to communicate with deaf people much much easier which is the best benefit) ----- Birdy is beginning to develop her own ASL adjacent method of communication, which will slowly morph into proper kitty cat sign language! I thought I would compile and share my thoughts so they're open to criticism and suggestions and all. Currently she is only using her paws to describe items and events in her direct surroundings, as she can indicate them and then describe them. (Ex. The camp entrance as one paw moved in an arch, and a dare for another kitten to go through it as the second paw, moving through the space under where she had indicated the arch. +facial expressions) She will develop this skill into a more complicated language as she grows up, as she has no role model to teach her and is currently one (1) moon old! Going forward the issue with me translating my limited signing skills into a battle cat sign language is lack of handshapes. This being one of the five big ASL parameters is going to cause problems. I think, and hear me out, the strategy to making ASL kitty cat friendly is to work in a tail paw combination and use the tail to replace handshapes. It would really alter the language because tails do not map to hands (at all) BUT its better then a lack of any handshape representative, I think! If we use the tail for classifiers when describing something and separately for non physical things like feelings (context specific or set up before a sentence) it would allow less tail-shapes to span more contexts The other thing lost is fingerspelling, which is essential in ASL for the name of anything, along with several other uses such as clarification and specifics within categories. This. Is my biggest problem, and up until the point I can find a solution Birdy wont be able to talk in specifics unless a specific is common enough she makes a full sign for it. She'll probably make up for this by describing the specific thing she is talking about. (implication- if cats don't have sign names they become 'brown cat with stripes' LMAO) For now though, everything but the first chunk is planning and speculation. This should improve with time, provided she survives!
Vocabulary and links for anyone whos interested -ASL- American Sign Language, the signed language used specifically in the US https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/american-sign-language -Handshapes- The way your hand is formed- think a fist or a flat hand or a flicking hand notably, cats don't have very mobile fingers! https://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/pages-layout/handshapes.htm -The 5 sign language parameters- Handshape, hand orientation, location, movement, non-manual expression All features are what makes each sign distinct! They are all important to making the right sign. https://www.researchgate.net/figure/The-five-components-of-signs-in-sign-languages_fig1_348346456 -classifiers- Handshapes associated with categories that help describe something within those categories (please read, I cant explain them well) https://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/pages-signs/classifiers/classifiers-main.htm -fingerspelling- spelling out words using the ASL (or other applicable signed language) alphabet. The link is ASL letters/numbers https://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/fingerspelling/fingerspelling.htm
