From Rod Murphy, Pinegowrie, South Africa
Shira Rubin observes that Al-Sayyid Bedouin Sign Language achieving the capability to communicate broadly “without complex grammar is largely a mystery” (8 October, p 36). In the 1960s I worked for a parachuting training school: we flew with no door on the aircraft. Wind noise prevented speech. We quickly developed a sign language that was quite complex, conveying details of altitude, air speed, direction and what action to take to compensate for a non-optimal exit from the plane. Needs must…
