Paget Gorman Sign System

The Paget Gorman Sign System, also known as Paget Gorman Signed Speech (PGSS) or Paget Gorman Systematic Sign Language is a manually coded form of the English language, designed to be used with children with speech or communication difficulties.

Development

PGSS was originally developed in Britain by anthropologist Sir Richard Paget in the 1930s, ^[1] and later by his wife Lady Grace Paget and Dr Pierre Gorman.^[2] The system is founded on the notion that the original form of all speech is sign language and it has developed to the point that it features its own grammatical sign system.^[2] It has been distinguished when it was first proposed due to the way it introduced a degree of arbitrariness.^[3] It is also based on a classificatory system^[3] and uses 37 basic signs and 21 standard hand postures, which can be combined to represent a large vocabulary of English words, including word endings and verb tenses.

The system was widespread in Deaf schools in the UK from the 1960s to the 1980s, but since the emergence of British Sign Language and the BSL-based Signed English in deaf education, its use is now largely restricted to the field of speech and language disorder and is available if the learner has attended a course of instruction.^[4]

See also

• Namibian Sign Language, a language that developed out of PGSS
• Makaton

References

1. Broussine, Eric; Scarborough, Kim (September 25, 2013). Chapter 7: Promoting Effective Communication- SAGE Books. doi:10.4135/9781446288191. ISBN 9781849200844. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)Robert Pardoe
2. Broussine, Eric; Scarborough, Kim (2011). Supporting People with Learning Disabilities in Health and Social Care. London: SAGE Publications Ltd. p. 126. ISBN 9781849200837.
3. Fraser, W. I.; Grieve, R. (0981). Communicating with Normal and Retarded Children. Bristol: John Wright & Sons. p. 156. ISBN 0723605726.
4. Schlesinger, I. M.; Namir, Lila (2014). Sign Language of the Deaf: Psychological, Linguistic, and Sociological Perspectives. New York: Academic Press. p. 162. ISBN 978-0126251500.