Manually Coded Language

Manually Coded Language

Manually coded languages (MCLs) are representations of oral languages in a gestural-visual form; that is, "sign language" versions of oral languages (signed oral languages). Unlike the sign languages that have evolved naturally in Deaf communities, which have distinct spatial structures, manually coded languages are the invention of hearing people, and mostly follow the grammar of the oral language — or, more precisely, of the written form of the oral language. They have been mainly used in deaf education and by sign language interpreters, although they have had some influence on Deaf sign languages where their implementation was widespread.