Japanese Sign Language family

Last updated
Japanese Sign Language
Geographic
distribution		East Asia
Linguistic classification One of the world's sign language families
Subdivisions
Glottolog jsli1234

The Japanese Sign Language (JSL) family is a language family of three sign languages: [1]

Contents

There is little difficulty in communication across the three languages. [2]

History

The first Japanese school for the deaf was established in Kyoto in 1878. In 1879, it became a large public school. In the following year, Tokyo opened a large public school for deaf children. [3] Initially, what was being taught in the school located in Kyoto was different from what was being taught in the school in Tokyo. It was not until 1908 where a symposium for educating the hearing impaired was held that the education became more standardized. This symposium is largely responsible for the inception of JSL. [4]

JSL's influence in TSL and KSL is largely due to Japan's colonial presence in both Korea and Taiwan respectively. Japan occupied Korea from 1910 to 1945 and Taiwan from 1895 to 1945. During these periods, Japan established schools for the hearing impaired and sent teachers from their previously established Japan schools to teach. [5] According to Ethnologue , sign language had been used in Korea since 1889, predating the Japanese occupation, with use in schools since 1908. TSL dates from 1895, during the colonial period, when two schools for the deaf were established on north and south of the island.

Functional markers

JSL is mutually intelligible with both KSL and TSL. This means that although Japanese, Korean, and Taiwanese Mandarin are unrelated oral languages, someone who uses JSL can effectively communicate with someone who uses TSL or KSL with little difficulty. TSL shares about 60% of its vocabulary with JSL, but the similarities between the languages do not entirely stem from a similar vocabulary. They share many of the same grammatical features. The same can be said about KSL. [2]

JSL family languages are characterized by grammatical structures and features which are not found in the oral languages of the surrounding community. Those using JSL, KSL and TSL are able to interact easily because of the commonalities they all share, such as grammatical features and functional markers. [6] For example, a feature unique to these three languages is the lexical encoding of gender. Some signs when made with the thumb indicate a male, while the corresponding signs made with the little finger indicate a female. [7]

As in other sign languages, they incorporate nonmanual markers with lexical, syntactic, discourse, and affective functions. These include brow raising and furrowing, frowning, head shaking and nodding, and leaning and shifting the torso. [8]

Other sign languages in Japan, Korea and Taiwan

Some communities where deafness is relatively common and which have historically had little contact with mainland Japan have formed their own village sign languages:

The increase in communication have led to an increasing influence of the Japanese sign over the village forms.

Notes

  1. ↑ Fischer, Susan D. et al. (2010). "Variation in East Asian Sign Language Structures" in Sign Languages, p. 499 at Google Books
  2. 1 2 Fischer, "Variation," p. 501 at Google Books
  3. ↑ Hall, Percival (1905). "The Education of the Deaf in Japan". American Annals of the Deaf. 50 (3): 304–308. JSTOR   44461837 – via JSTOR.
  4. ↑ "The History of Japanese Sign Language 手話の歴史". Japanese Sign Language & アメリカ手話. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
  5. ↑ "Korean Sign Language - Owlcation - Education". owlcation.com. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
  6. ↑ Fischer, Susan D. (2008). "Sign Languages East and West" in Unity and Diversity of Languages, pp. 6–15 at Google Books
  7. ↑ Fischer, "Variation," p. 513 at Google Books
  8. ↑ Fischer, "Variation," p. 507 at Google Books

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sign language</span> Language that uses manual communication and body language to convey meaning

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 also similarities among different sign languages.

Taiwan Sign Language is the sign language most commonly used by the deaf and hard of hearing in Taiwan.

Hawaiʻi Sign Language or Hawaiian Sign Language, also known as Hoailona ʻŌlelo, Old Hawaiʻi Sign Language and Hawaiʻi Pidgin Sign Language is an indigenous sign language native to Hawaiʻi. Historical records document its presence on the islands as early as the 1820s, but HSL was not formally recognized by linguists until 2013.

Japanese Sign Language, also known by the acronym JSL, is the dominant sign language in Japan and is a complete natural language, distinct from but influenced by the spoken Japanese language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Languages of Taiwan</span>

The languages of Taiwan consist of several varieties of languages under the families of Austronesian languages and Sino-Tibetan languages. The Formosan languages, a geographically designated branch of Austronesian languages, have been spoken by the Taiwanese indigenous peoples for thousands of years. Owing to the wide internal variety of the Formosan languages, research on historical linguistics recognizes Taiwan as the Urheimat (homeland) of the whole Austronesian languages family. In the last 400 years, several waves of Han emigrations brought several different Sinitic languages into Taiwan. These languages include Taiwanese Hokkien, Hakka, and Mandarin, which have become the major languages spoken in present-day Taiwan.

Chinese Sign Language is the official sign language of China. It is different from the Taiwanese Sign Language and is known in Taiwan as Wénfǎ Shǒuyǔ.

Korean Sign Language or KSL is a sign language used for deaf communities of South Korea. It is one of two official languages in the country, alongside Korean.

Danish Sign Language is the sign language used in Denmark.

Around seven Tanzanian sign languages were independently developed among deaf students in separate Tanzanian schools for the deaf, starting in 1963. However, the use of several is forbidden by their respective schools. In 1984, a standardized Tanzanian Sign Language was proposed by the Tanzania Association for the Deaf, using common or similar signs where these exist in schools that allowed research. However, it has not been officially implemented, and there remains little influence between the languages. A dictionary has been produced. Lexically, the variety that developed in the oralist deaf school in Tabora is significantly different from the dictionary and is under investigation.

The Japanese Federation of the Deaf (JFD) is the national organization of the Deaf in Japan. JFD is also a member organization of the World Federation of the Deaf.

Nepalese Sign Language or Nepali Sign Language is the main sign language of Nepal. It is a partially standardized language based informally on the variety used in Kathmandu, with some input from varieties from Pokhara and elsewhere. As an indigenous sign language, it is not related to oral Nepali. The Nepali Constitution of 2015 specifically mentions the right to have education in Sign Language for the deaf. Likewise, the newly passed Disability Rights Act of 2072 BS defined language to include "spoken and sign languages and other forms of speechless language." in practice it is recognized by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare, and is used in all schools for the deaf. In addition, there is legislation underway in Nepal which, in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) which Nepal has ratified, should give Nepalese Sign Language equal status with the oral languages of the country.

Peruvian Sign Language is a Peruvian language created and used by the Deaf community in Peru. It has been officially recognized by Peruvian law since 2010. It is not clear how many users there are in the country; the most recent general census registered little more than 10,000, but the more specific census on people with special needs found around half a million people with hearing disabilities.

Ukrainian Sign Language (USL) (Ukrainian: Українська жестова мова (УЖМ)) is the sign language of the deaf community of Ukraine. Ukrainian Sign Language belongs to the family of French sign languages. Worldwide awareness of Ukrainian Sign Language rose sharply in 2014 after the release of a Ukrainian film The Tribe, where actors communicated in Ukrainian Sign Language with no spoken dialogue.

Deaf Education in Kenya is a constantly changing section of the Kenyan education system that is focused on educating deaf, hard-of-hearing, and hearing-impaired Kenyan students. There are many organizations in Kenya made to protect the rights of Deaf Kenyans and promote progress in deaf education. The state of Kenyan deaf education is constantly changing and improving.

There are one or two known sign languages in Myanmar. There are three schools for the deaf in the country: the Mary Chapman School for the Deaf in Yangon, the School for the Deaf, Mandalay, and the Immanuel School for the Deaf in Kalay. At least in Yangon, instruction in oral, in the Burmese language, with sign used to support it. The sign of Yangon and Mandalay is different, but it's not clear if they are one language or two. Influences on the language(s) include ASL in all schools, as well as Korean Sign Language, Australian Sign Language, Thai Sign Language, and possibly a local substratum. A government project was set up in 2010 to establish a national sign language with the aid of the Japanese Federation of the Deaf.

The Sign Assisted Instruction Programme is carried out by the Lutheran School For The Deaf starting from February 2012 with funding from the Quality Education Fund.

Japanese Sign Language (JSL), also known as Nihon Shuwa, is the unofficial but most predominantly used sign language used by nearly 57,000 native signers as their primary language. It is a convergent, Deaf community sign language developed in the late 19th century.

South Korea's Deaf population began to come to prominence in recorded history in the late 19th century with the implementation of special education. Since then, they have gained government recognition and legal rights.

Deafness in Thailand refers to the population and culture of Deaf Hard of Hearing people in Thailand. Deafness in Thailand includes language emergence, organizations, healthcare, employment, schooling, and civil rights.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.