Adamorobe Sign Language

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Adamorobe Sign Language
Mumu kasa
Native to Ghana
Regioneastern Ghana, Adamorobe village
Native speakers
40 deaf (2012) [1]
Many of the 3,500 hearing villagers (2012) sign to varying degrees
Village sign language, West African gestural area
Language codes
ISO 639-3 ads
Glottolog adam1238
ELP Adamorobe Sign Language

Adamorobe Sign Language or AdaSL is a village sign language used in Adamorobe, an Akan village in eastern Ghana. It is used by about 30 deaf and 1370 hearing people (2003). [2] [3] Under these circumstances, AdaSL has developed as an indigenous sign language, fully independent from the country's standard Ghanaian Sign Language (which is related to American Sign Language). AdaSL is a shared sign language which differs from urban sign languages such as Ghanaian Sign Language because the majority of speakers of a shared sign language aren't actually deaf. National sign languages usually emerge for the purpose of use by deaf individuals such as those attending schools specifically for the deaf. This important feature of shared sign languages alters the way it is maintained, developed, and shared. A historical example of a shared signing community is the island Martha's Vineyard (Martha's Vineyard Sign Language). [4]

Contents

For over a decade, the deaf children of the village have attended a boarding school in Mampong-Akuapem, where the ASL based Ghanaian Sign Language is used. As a consequence, this language has become the first language of these children and their command of AdaSL is decreasing. This is likely to lead to a complete shift of the deaf community in Adamorobe to Ghanaian Sign Language. As such, AdaSL is an endangered sign language.

Geography

Adamorobe is situated approximately 30 to 40 kilometers north of Accra in the Akuapem Hills. It is a predominantly Akan village, with the majority of the population speaking the Akan language (Akuapem Twi) in addition to using AdaSL. The community gained attention for its unusually high incidence of hereditary deafness, a phenomenon that has shaped the village's cultural and linguistic landscape. [5] Unlike many other deaf communities where deaf individuals are socially marginalized, Adamorobe's deaf residents are fully integrated into village life. Hearing villagers commonly use AdaSL in daily interactions, creating a bilingual environment that bridges the hearing and deaf worlds seamlessly. [6]

AdaSL shares signs and prosodic features with some other sign languages in the region, such as Bura Sign Language, but it has been suggested these similarities are due to culturally shared gestures rather than a genetic relationship. AdaSL has features that set it apart from the sign languages of large deaf communities studied so far, including the absence of the type of classifier construction that expresses motion or location (sometimes called "entity classifiers"). Instead, AdaSL uses several types of serial verb constructions also found in the surrounding spoken language, Akan. Frishberg suggests that AdaSL may be related to the "gestural trade jargon used in the markets throughout West Africa". [7]

Linguistic features

Adamorobe Sign Language possesses distinct grammatical structures and vocabulary that set it apart from Ghanaian Sign Language and other national or international sign languages. [5] Unlike many urban sign languages that develop within educational institutions, AdaSL evolved organically within a close-knit community, resulting in unique syntactic constructions and simultaneous sign formations. [8]

Its use is characterized by spatial grammar, classifier constructions, and gestures deeply embedded in the local culture. The language is not mutually intelligible with GSL, and many signs are specific to Adamorobe's cultural context, making it a rich subject of linguistic study. [5] AdaSL also exhibits a lower reliance on fingerspelling compared to GSL, and it preserves several features that are considered archaic or absent in more standardized sign languages. [9]

Deaf culture

Deaf culture in Adamorobe is notably inclusive. Deaf residents have historically participated fully in social, economic, and cultural activities. [6] Unlike many other societies, deafness in Adamorobe does not carry a stigma. Instead, sign language has been a natural and respected form of communication, used not only by deaf individuals but also by hearing family members, friends, and neighbors. [10] This integration is evident in communal gatherings, marketplaces, and traditional ceremonies where sign language is used openly. The social fabric of Adamorobe has long celebrated this coexistence, which has contributed to the resilience of its deaf community despite external pressures. [6]

History

A sign language teacher in a class in Ghana. Ghanaian sign language for "school".jpg
A sign language teacher in a class in Ghana.

AdaSL is believed to have emerged over 200 years ago, alongside the settlement's founding. [5] Genetic studies suggest that the high incidence of deafness in Adamorobe is due to a hereditary mutation passed down through generations. [11] The earliest academic references to Adamorobe and its sign language date back to the mid-20th century, with researchers noting the community's unique integration of deaf individuals. [5]

In the 1960s and 1980s, the introduction of formal deaf education in Ghana led to the exposure of Adamorobe's deaf children to Ghanaian Sign Language, which is derived from American Sign Language (ASL). This exposure began to shift the linguistic practices of younger generations, who now tend to use GSL more frequently than AdaSL. [10]

A critical turning point in the village's history came in 1975 when the local chief instituted a ban on marriages between deaf individuals in an effort to reduce the incidence of hereditary deafness. While this policy effectively decreased the number of deaf births, it also inadvertently threatened the long-term survival of AdaSL. [11]

Preservation efforts

Today, Adamorobe Sign Language faces significant challenges. The number of deaf individuals in the village has declined due to the marriage policy that discouraged unions between deaf people. [11] Additionally, the younger generation of deaf children is increasingly adopting Ghanaian Sign Language through formal education, which reduces the intergenerational transmission of AdaSL. [10] The influence of urbanization and national language policies further accelerates the shift away from village sign languages. Without deliberate preservation efforts, AdaSL risks becoming endangered or possibly extinct within the next few decades. [12]

Several linguists and anthropologists have documented Adamorobe Sign Language extensively in recent years. Their efforts aim to preserve the language's unique features and raise awareness of its cultural importance. [5] However, there are limited formal initiatives within the village to revitalize or maintain AdaSL among younger generations. [10] Potential preservation strategies include community-based language programs, the development of AdaSL teaching materials, and the integration of the language into local schools. Encouraging the use of AdaSL in social and cultural events could also contribute to its sustainability. [6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Adamorobe Sign Language at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ↑ Nyst, Victoria; Baker, Anne (2003). "The phonology of name signs: a comparison between the sign languages of Uganda, Mali, Adamorobe and The Netherlands". In Baker, Anne; van den Bogaerde, Beppie; Crasborn, Otto (eds.). Cross-linguistic perspectives in sign language research: Selected papers from TISLR 2000. Hamburg: Signum. pp. 71–80.
  3. ↑ Nyst, Victoria (2004). Verb series of non-agentive motion in Adamorobe Sign Language (Ghana). Theoretical Issues in Sign Language Research 8, University of Barcelona, 1 October 2004.
  4. ↑ Kusters, Annelies (April 2014). "Language ideologies in the shared signing community of Adamorobe". Language in Society. 43 (2): 139–158. doi:10.1017/S0047404514000013. ProQuest   1510382407.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Nyst, Victoria (2007). A descriptive analysis of Adamorobe Sign Language (Ghana). LOT. Utrecht: LOT. ISBN   978-90-78328-22-3.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Kusters, Annelies (2015). Deaf Space in Adamorobe: An Ethnographic Study in a Village in Ghana. Gallaudet University Press. doi:10.2307/j.ctv2rh28wp. ISBN   978-1-56368-632-0. JSTOR   j.ctv2rh28wp.
  7. ↑ Nancy Frishberg (1987). Ghanaian Sign Language. In: Cleve, J. Van (ed.) Gallaudet encyclopaedia of deaf people and deafness. New York: McGraw-Gill Book Company.
  8. ↑ Vermeerbergen, Myriam; Leeson, Lorraine; Crasborn, Onno Alex (2007). Simultaneity in signed languages: form and function. Amsterdam studies in the theory and history of linguistic science. Amsterdam: J. Benjamins. ISBN   978-90-272-4796-4.
  9. ↑ Nyst, Victoria (21 February 2007), "Simultaneous Constructions in Adamorobe Sign Language (Ghana)", Simultaneity in Signed Languages, Current Issues in Linguistic Theory, vol. 281, Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, pp. 127–145, doi:10.1075/cilt.281.06nys, hdl: 1887/3589960 , ISBN   978-90-272-4796-4 , retrieved 28 June 2025
  10. 1 2 3 4 Kusters, Annelies (2014). "Language ideologies in the shared signing community of Adamorobe". Language in Society. 43 (2): 139–158. doi:10.1017/S0047404514000013. ISSN   0047-4045. JSTOR   43903853.
  11. 1 2 3 Kusters, Annelies (October 2012). ""The Gong Gong Was Beaten"—Adamorobe: A "Deaf Village" in Ghana and Its Marriage Prohibition for Deaf Partners". Sustainability. 4 (10): 2765–2784. Bibcode:2012Sust....4.2765K. doi: 10.3390/su4102765 . ISSN   2071-1050.
  12. ↑ "Adamorobe Sign Language" . Endangered Languages Project. University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa & Eastern Michigan University. 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2025.

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