As a very broad generalisation, older Deaf people (for example, especially those over 80) often use very much more fingerspelling and fewer clear English mouth patterns ( mouthings) than younger Deaf people. The overall size of signs used by older people is also usually smaller. Many younger Deaf people (for example those under twenty) use a form of BSL that is more heavily influenced by English grammar, and use relatively little fingerspelling. Their signs are often bigger than similar signs used by older signers. Signers from different age groups also use different signs to refer to the same objects.
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