 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source .(March 2016) |
| Founded | 2006 |
|---|---|
Area served | Member states of the European Union |
| Website | signlanguage.eu |
The European Sign Language Centre (ESC) is a nonprofit organization, working towards greater recognition and use of sign language.
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.
Sign languages are languages that use the visual-manual modality to convey meaning, instead of spoken words. Sign languages are expressed through manual articulation in combination with non-manual markers. Sign languages are full-fledged natural languages with their own grammar and lexicon. Sign languages are not universal and are usually not mutually intelligible, although there are similarities among different sign languages.
International Sign (IS) is a pidgin sign language which is used in a variety of different contexts, particularly as an international auxiliary language at meetings such as the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) congress, in some European Union settings, and at some UN conferences, at events such as the Deaflympics, the Miss & Mister Deaf World, and Eurovision, and informally when travelling and socialising.
Ka'apor Sign Language is a village sign language used by the small community of Ka'apor people in the Brazilian state of Maranhão. Linguist Jim Kakumasu observed in 1968 that the number of deaf people in the community was 7 out of a population of about 500. This relatively high ratio of deafness led to both hearing and deaf members of the community using the language, and most hearing children grow up bilingual in the spoken and signed languages. The current state of the language is unknown. Other Indigenous tribes in the region have also been reported to use sign languages, and to communicate between themselves using sign language pidgins.
Turkish Sign Language is the language used by the deaf community in Turkey. As with other sign languages, TİD has a unique grammar that is different from the oral languages used in the region.
Hungarian Sign Language is the sign language of deaf people in Hungary. There is historical evidence that Hungarian and Austrian Sign Language are related, but Bickford (2005) found that Hungarian, Slovak, and Czech Sign formed a cluster with Romanian, Bulgarian, and Polish Sign rather than with Austrian. Bickford also noted that there are about seven dialects of Hungarian Sign Language, with the variation connected to the residential deaf school where it is taught.
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.
Dutch Sign Language is the predominant sign language used by deaf people in the Netherlands.
Italian Sign Language is the visual language used by deaf people in Italy. Deep analysis of it began in the 1980s, along the lines of William Stokoe's research on American Sign Language in the 1960s. Until the beginning of the 21st century, most studies of Italian Sign Language dealt with its phonology and vocabulary. According to the European Union for the Deaf, the majority of the 60,000–90,000 Deaf people in Italy use LIS.
Estonian Sign Language is the national sign language of Estonia.
The European Union of the Deaf (EUD) is a supraorganization comprising each respective National Association of the Deaf of the member states of the European Union. The EUD is a nonprofit organization founded in 1985 and is a Regional Co-operating Member of the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD), a full member of the European Disability Forum (EDF) and has a participatory status with the Council of Europe (CoE). Ten countries were present at this meeting. During the assembly of October 10, 1994, the delegates of the deaf associations in Europe voted for a change of name: ECRS was thus replaced by the European Union of the Deaf (EUD).
Armenian Sign Language is the deaf sign language of Armenia.
Croatian Sign Language is a sign language of the deaf community in Croatia. It has in the past been regarded as a dialect of Yugoslav Sign Language, although the dialectical diversity of the former Yugoslavia has not been assessed.
The Swedish Sign Language family is a language family of sign languages, including Swedish Sign Language, Portuguese Sign Language, Cape Verdian Sign Language, Finnish Sign Language and Eritrean Sign.
Bulgarian Sign Language is the language, or perhaps languages, of the deaf community in Bulgaria.
Cyprus or Cypriot Sign Language is an incipient sign language of Cyprus. It appears to be a pidgin of American Sign Language and Greek Sign Language, not yet a fully developed language. The Greek Cypriot deaf community predominantly uses the Greek Sign Language.
Sudan and South Sudan have multiple regional sign languages, which are not mutually intelligible. A survey of just three states found 150 sign languages, though this number included instances of home sign. Government figures estimate there are at least about 48,900 deaf people in Sudan. By 2009, the Sudanese National Union of the Deaf had worked out a Unified Sudanese Sign Language, but it had not yet been widely disseminated.
The Italian National Agency for the protection and assistance of the Deaf (ENS) is an Italian non-governmental organization that acts as a peak body for national associations of Deaf people, with a focus on Deaf people who use sign language and their family and friends. ENS aims to promote the Human Rights of Deaf Italians, by working closely with Italy. ENS is also a member of the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) and European Union of the Deaf.
The Norwegian Association of the Deaf is a national organisation for the deaf and sign language users in Norway.
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