Overview of the emergence of an academic register in non-written languages: the case of sign languages

Abstract Natural human communication is expressed through various modalities, primarily spoken language and sign language. Many spoken languages have a long history and have developed a written form due to knowledge storage and transmission using various media. The transfer of knowledge and literature by means of fixation such as writing has also led to the development of different text types and formatting rules. In the case of sign languages, which until now were oral languages without a written tradition and were found mainly in the private register, an analogy to written languages is developing thanks to technology and digitalisation, particularly fixation on video. This evolution is leading to the generation of different text types and formatting rules for sign languages such as American Sign Language (ASL), German Sign Language (DGS) and Brazilian Sign Language (Libras). As academic interest in sign languages grows, with increased involvement of sign language users, an academic register is emerging. This article gives an overview of the development of these sign languages, explores their fixation and examines how academic formatting and text types are taking shape on a visual and multimodal level, corresponding to traditional written rules. In addition, I discuss insights that are of interest not only to non-written languages but also for dealing with artificial intelligence (AI).