Relevant to my interests – in my Gryphon Clerks novels, the gnomes have a system of sign language developed to communicate in noisy industrial environments, but also used to plot against their dwarvish masters without being overheard.

Originally shared by Masha du Toit

Amazing. And these languages were not just simple signs, but complex ways of communicating.

“Outside of deaf communities, hearing people sometimes develop what are now often called “alternate sign languages” to communicate when words will not do. In monasteries, monks uses signs to communicate in areas where speech is forbidden, for instance. In industries where machines made speaking impossible—in ships’ engine rooms, in steel mills, textile mills, and sawmills—workers also found ways to communicate with their hands.”

http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-lost-secret-sign-language-of-sawmill-workers