The diving community is missing out in a big way on underwater communication with a lack of knowledge of sign language.
The latest discovery was made by Nyle DiMarco, an actor, model and activist, who, as a deaf person, found the limitations of scuba diving hand signals when he took his first course.
This led to DiMarco collaborating with Thomas Koch to develop a more standardized sign language for scuba divers. Where this stands out is that it is base on American Sign Language, which means scuba divers will not only expand their communication ability underwater, but they will also be able to better communicate with deaf people above the water too.
Commenting on his experience, DiMarco stated:
“It was a bit strange trying to unlearn ASL to learn scuba-diving signs. It almost felt like limiting – knowing that I could still have the same amount of full-blown conversation under water with ASL. Some of the standard diving signs, while extremely necessary, are not quite intuitive and could be misinterpreted for something else.”
DiMarco added:
“However, the exciting part is that Thomas Koch, who I took the course with, is now in the process of expanding an entire underwater language. Why rely on random gestures, when we already have a full visual language that works – which is sign language! If we standardise diving hand-signals using sign language, divers wouldn’t just communicate better under water, they would also have the ability to connect with Deaf people inland!”
