Author: Audrey Cameron, Chancellor's Fellow, Science Education and BSL, The University of Edinburgh

For deaf people including schoolchildren, teachers and scientists, talking about marine species like the shortfin mako shark, loggerhead turtle and tiny phytoplankton usually means spelling out each term letter by letter. The lack of specific British Sign Language (BSL) signs for many marine species and concepts has made it challenging to have meaningful conversations about ocean conservation without resorting to tedious fingerspelling. This gap in sign language not only hinders communication, it excludes a significant portion of the population from important environmental discussions. Until now, most marine BSL terms have related to food or iconic groups of animals such as…