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Groups of deaf people have used sign languages throughout history.

For example, the US, Canada, UK, Australia and New Zealand all have English as their dominant language, but American Sign Language (ASL), used in the US and English-speaking Canada, is derived from French Sign Language whereas the other three countries sign dialects of British, Australian and New Zealand Sign Language.Wherever communities of deaf people exist, sign languages have developed, and are at the cores of local deaf cultures.Although signing is used primarily by the deaf and hard of hearing, it is also used by hearing individuals, such as those unable to physically speak, or those who have trouble with spoken language due to a disability or condition (augmentative and alternative communication)." Until the 19th century, most of what we know about historical sign languages is limited to the manual alphabets (fingerspelling systems) that were invented to facilitate transfer of words from a spoken language to a sign language, rather than documentation of the language itself.Pedro Ponce de León (1520–1584) is said to have developed the first manual alphabet.