FAQ

Q: Is sign language universal?

A: No. Sign language is the same as the language of hearing people.  As different countries have different languages, native sign languages have developed as a result of respective social and cultural backgrounds.  Thus the deaf people in Hong Kong use Hong Kong Sign Language, and the deaf people in Macau use Macau Sign Language.

Q: Is Hong Kong Sign Language expressed in different ways?

A: Yes. Similar to other languages, Hong Kong sign language is not uniform, so the same words can be expressed in many different ways.  ‘Bed’, for example, can be signed as follows:

Q: Can all the words in a language be expressed in Hong Kong Sign Language?

A:  No. That is because there is a severe lack of vocabulary in Hong Kong Sign Language.  In fact, the creation and publication of sign language vocabulary, such as names of people, places, new words and trendy words often lag behind the brisk pace of the times.  Moreover, sign language vocabulary is often centred around things in everyday life and thus is insufficient to meet the needs of teaching, in subjects such as Mathematics, Liberal Studies, Visual Arts, etc.  Many terms specific to these subjects do not have equivalents in Hong Kong Sign Language.

Q: How do I start to learn sign language?

A: You can first enroll in sign language courses to master basic sign language, and then use this webpage to learn other signs.  In your study of sign language, you need to have more contact with the hearing impaired.  Meanwhile, you may make use of the assessment test function on this website to find out whether you know certain signs.

Q: Would learning all the signs on this webpage be sufficient for me to communicate with hearing-impaired people?

A: No. This webpage shows signs for vocabulary items.  To communicate, you have to put signs/words into sentences, have more contact with hearing-impaired people, and enroll in sign language courses.

Q: Are there different levels in Hong Kong Sign Language?

A: Agencies serving the hearing-impaired in Hong Kong operate sign language courses at different levels.  In general they are divided into elementary, intermediate, advanced and professional levels.

Q: Do hearing-impaired people create new signs?

A: Yes. To catch up with social development, they do create signs for new vocabulary such as IPAD, Facebook, LCD screens, etc.

Q: Is the syntactical structure of Hong Kong Sign Language the same as that of other sign languages?

A: No. The common syntactical structures are classified according to the ordering of sentence elements: the subject (S), object (O), and predicate (V). Six arrangements, SOV, SVO, VOS, VSO, OSV, and OVS can be identified. The same arrangements are present in the spoken languages of the world as well. SOV is the main syntactical structure in sign language. Although there are different sign languages in different countries, the syntax of all sign languages is roughly the same.

Q: Is using sign language the only way to communicate with hearing-impaired people?

A: No. In addition to sign language, we can also use text, images, facial expressions, speech reading, body language and other ways to communicate with them.

Q: How do hearing-impaired people in Hong Kong communicate with those in other places?

A: To communicate with foreign hearing-impaired people, they learn the sign languages of different countries/cities.  In recent years, many hearing-impaired people have learned American Sign Language or International Sign Language.  In addition to sign language, they communicate with body language and text.

Q: I know some Hong Kong hearing-impaired people.  Why are their signs different from those displayed on this webpage?

A: Because there is no uniform Hong Kong sign language, many words can be signed in more than one way.  This webpage shows only one way to sign a word, as its purpose is to get students and teachers of the school used to one way of signing to facilitate teaching .

Q: Do all hearing-impaired people communicate with signs?

A:No.  Hearing-impaired people choose to sign according to their own preferences and ability.  In general, the less hearing impaired they are, the more likely they choose to communicate orally as they are able to receive most auditory information and speak better; while those who are more seriously hearing-impaired choose to communicate with signs as their ability to speak is poor.

Q: Why can’t I find part of the vocabulary?

A: Because the school is researching on signing the various vocabularies step by step. Whenever there is a series of new vocabulary for upload, we will show it in the "Last Updated" box on the webpage. Please continue to wait for the new vocabulary uploads patiently.

Q: I am a student. How can I become a student member?

A: You can log onto your personal account first, then input the login ID of a related teacher in "My Account→Looking for a teacher" to link to your teacher’s account. When the teacher’s account accepts the link, you can become a student member and use the relevant functions.

Q: Why can’t I see video clips?

A: First, you can check whether you have installed FLASH in your browser. Install it if it has not been installed.  If it has been installed, please press the ‘Refresh’ button to refresh your webpage. 

Q: Why can’t I listen to the pronunciations?

A: Please check whether the volume setting of your computer has been switched on.

Q: Why are there two video clips for the same vocabulary item?

A: That is because there are two ways of signing it. To imitate the moon hanging high in the sky, it may be represented as round or curved, so there can be two different sign video clips, depending on what a user wishes to express. 

Q: Why can’t I log onto my account?

A: Please check your login email and password for input errors.

Q: How is the assessment test function to be used?

A: If you are not registered / logged in, you can only use "Self Quiz” and “Quiz Records”. The quiz results will only be recorded on the computer you are using; and the browsing history function will post instances of browsing to the browsing history on your computer. If you want the system to record your quiz results and use your personal browsing history for a quiz, you must first login before browsing the webpage and taking a quiz. 

Q: Is my browsing history permanently stored on the website?

A: The browsing history of a registered account will only be retained for the most recent month.

Q: Will members be notified of new activities and updates for the webpage?

A: No. For the present the latest news and activity information will only be published on the webpage, while updates on sign videos are available from “Recent Updates”.

Q: How do I change my password?

A: After login, look for Change Password in "My Account" to change your personal password.

Q: How are assessment tests shared on social networking sites?

A: After the completion of each test, you can press the "Share to Facebook" to share with friends.

Q: Does learning sign language hinder children from learning another language?

A: At present there are no studies that posit that children who have learnt sign language will ever be hindered from learning other languages.

Q: How many schools for hearing-impaired children are there in Hong Kong at present?

A: The Lutheran School for the Deaf is the only existing special school in Hong Kong that provides education from Primary 1 to Secondary Six.