Related Research Articles
Fingerspelling is the representation of the letters of a writing system, and sometimes numeral systems, using only the hands. These manual alphabets have often been used in deaf education and have subsequently been adopted as a distinct part of a number of sign languages. There are about forty manual alphabets around the world. Historically, manual alphabets have had a number of additional applications—including use as ciphers, as mnemonics and in silent religious settings.
British Sign Language (BSL) is a sign language used in the United Kingdom and is the first or preferred language among the deaf community in the UK. While private correspondence from William Stokoe hinted at a formal name for the language in 1960, the first usage of the term "British Sign Language" in an academic publication was likely by Aaron Cicourel. Based on the percentage of people who reported 'using British Sign Language at home' on the 2011 Scottish Census, the British Deaf Association estimates there are 151,000 BSL users in the UK, of whom 87,000 are Deaf. By contrast, in the 2011 England and Wales Census 15,000 people living in England and Wales reported themselves using BSL as their main language. People who are not deaf may also use BSL, as hearing relatives of deaf people, sign language interpreters or as a result of other contact with the British Deaf community. The language makes use of space and involves movement of the hands, body, face and head.
Auslan is the sign language used by the majority of the Australian Deaf community. Auslan is related to British Sign Language (BSL) and New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL); the three have descended from the same parent language, and together comprise the BANZSL language family. As with other sign languages, Auslan's grammar and vocabulary is quite different from spoken English. Its origin cannot be attributed to any individual; rather, it is a natural language that emerged spontaneously and has changed over time.
New Zealand Sign Language or NZSL is the main language of the deaf community in New Zealand. It became an official language of New Zealand in April 2006 under the New Zealand Sign Language Act 2006. The purpose of the act was to create rights and obligations in the use of NZSL throughout the legal system and to ensure that the Deaf community had the same access to government information and services as everybody else. According to the 2013 Census, over 20,000 New Zealanders know NZSL.
British, Australian and New Zealand Sign Language is a language grouping or family encompassing three related sign languages: British Sign Language (BSL), Auslan and New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL). The term BANZSL was coined informally by the linguists Trevor Johnston and Adam Schembri in the early 2000s. However, in 2024, Schembri stated that the Wikipedia article on BANZSL conceived of it as having the more specific or authoritative meaning of "the language from which modern BSL and Auslan and New Zealand sign language have descended", a meaning that "took on a life of its own—something that we didn't intend". As a result, Schembri has disowned the term due to the perception that it is replacing the names of each of the three varieties and because of pushback from Deaf communities.
Irish Sign Language is the sign language of Ireland, used primarily in the Republic of Ireland. It is also used in Northern Ireland, alongside British Sign Language (BSL). Irish Sign Language is more closely related to French Sign Language (LSF) than to BSL, though it has influence from both languages. It has influenced sign languages in Australia and South Africa, and has little relation to either spoken Irish or English. ISL is unique among sign languages for having different gendered versions due to men and women being taught it at different schools all over Ireland.
Northern Ireland Sign language is a sign language used mainly by deaf people in Northern Ireland.
Jeff McWhinney, is a leader in the UK deaf community.
Manually Coded English (MCE) is an umbrella term referring to a number of invented manual codes intended to visually represent the exact grammar and morphology of spoken English. Different codes of MCE vary in the levels of adherence to spoken English grammar, morphology, and syntax. MCE is typically used in conjunction with direct spoken English.
Waratah is a north-western residential suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) from Newcastle's central business district and bounded to the north by the Main North railway line. Waratah station was opened in 1858 and is served by NSW TrainLink's Hunter line.
South African Sign Language is the primary sign language used by deaf people in South Africa. The South African government added a National Language Unit for South African Sign Language in 2001. SASL is not the only manual language used in South Africa, but it is the language that is being promoted as the language to be used by the Deaf in South Africa, although Deaf peoples in South Africa historically do not form a single group.
Irish Australians are residents of Australia who are fully or partially of Irish descent. Irish immigrants and descendants have been a prominent presence in the Australian populace since the First Fleet's arrival in New South Wales in 1788.
The legal recognition of signed languages differs widely. In some jurisdictions, a signed language is recognised as an official language; in others, it has a protected status in certain areas. Although a government may stipulate in its constitution that a "signed language" is recognised, it may fail to specify which signed language; several different signed languages may be commonly used.
Deaf education is the education of students with any degree of hearing loss or deafness. This may involve, but does not always, individually-planned, systematically-monitored teaching methods, adaptive materials, accessible settings, and other interventions designed to help students achieve a higher level of self-sufficiency and success in the school and community than they would achieve with a typical classroom education. There are different language modalities used in educational setting where students get varied communication methods. A number of countries focus on training teachers to teach deaf students with a variety of approaches and have organizations to aid deaf students.
English is by far the most spoken, and the "de facto" national language of Northern Ireland,; it occurs in various forms, including Ulster English and Hiberno-English. Irish is an official language of Northern Ireland since 2022, and the local variety of Scots, known as Ulster Scots, has official minority status, with services in the language provided by public authorities. Northern Ireland Sign Language and Irish Sign Language have also been recognised with minority status since 29 March 2004.
The deaf community in Australia is a diverse cultural and linguistic minority group. Deaf communities have many distinctive cultural characteristics, some of which are shared across many different countries. These characteristics include language, values and behaviours. The Australian deaf community relies primarily on Australian Sign Language, or Auslan. Those in the Australian deaf community experience some parts of life differently than those in the broader hearing world, such as access to education and health care.
Papua New Guinean Sign Language (PNGSL) is a sign language originating from Papua New Guinea. The standardised form of PNGSL was made an official language of Papua New Guinea in 2015.
Indigenous Sign Language (ISL) is an emerging contact language used by aboriginal deaf people in urban centers of Far North Queensland such as Cairns.
John Smith is a British comedian, actor and performer. He is deaf and a British Sign Language user.
In Ireland, 8% of adults are affected by deafness or severe hearing loss. In other words, 300,000 Irish require supports due to their hearing loss.
References
- ↑ Adam, Robert (2017). "Australian Irish Sign Language: a minority sign language within a larger sign language community". Endangered Languages Archive. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
- ↑ "Australian Irish Sign Language: a minority sign language within a larger sign language community". Culture in Crisis. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
- 1 2 Wallis, Bernadette T. (2016). The Silent Book: A Deaf Family and the Disappearing Australian-Irish Sign Language. Rangeview, Vic.: Missionary Sisters of Service. ISBN 978-0646954943.
- 1 2 3 Adam, Robert (2017). "Australian Irish Sign Language: a minority sign language within a larger sign language community". Endangered Languages Archive. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
- ↑ Lo Bianco, Joseph (1987). National Policy on Languages (PDF) (Report). Australian Government Publishing Service. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
The communication disabled, particularly deaf people, have evolved languages which are stable and share many of the characteristics of community languages. Australian Sign Language is the language of over 7,000 deaf people and is used by thousands of others who, however, are not dependent on it.
