Saudi Sign Language | |
---|---|
لغة الإشارة السعودية | |
Native to | Saudi Arabia |
Native speakers | 100,000 (2008) [1] |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | sdl |
Glottolog | saud1238 |
Saudi Sign Language is the deaf sign language of Saudi Arabia. This sign language is different from the Unified Arabic Sign Language that is used by 18 Arab countries. [2] There are 100,000 deaf people in Saudi Arabia. [3]
Wittmann (1991) [4] posits that SSL is a language isolate (a 'prototype' sign language), though one developed through stimulus diffusion from an existing sign language.
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.
Hawaiʻi Sign Language, also known as Hoailona ʻŌlelo and Old Hawaiʻi 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.
Brazilian Sign Language is the sign language used by deaf communities of urban Brazil. It is also known in short as Libras and variously abbreviated as LSB, LGB or LSCB.
Austrian Sign Language, or Österreichische Gebärdensprache (ÖGS), is the sign language used by the Austrian Deaf community—approximately 10,000 people.
Korean Sign Language or KSL is a sign language used for deaf communities of South Korea under the North-South Korean border. It is often referred to simply as 수화; 手話; suhwa, which means signing in general.
Catalan Sign Language is a sign language used by around 18,000 people in different areas of Spain including Barcelona and Catalonia. As of 2012, the Catalan Federation for the Deaf estimates 25,000 LSC signers and roughly 12,000 deaf people around the Catalan lands. It has about 50% intelligibility with Spanish Sign Language (LSE). On the basis of mutual intelligibility, lexicon, and social attitudes, linguists have argued that LSC and LSE are distinct languages.
Estonian Sign Language is the national sign language of Estonia.
Salvadoran Sign language is a language used by the deaf community in El Salvador. Its main purpose is to communicate. There are three distinct forms of sign language. American Sign Language was brought over to El Salvador from the United States by missionaries who set up small communal schools for the deaf. The government has also created a school for the deaf, teaching by means of their own modified Salvadoran Sign Language. The third type of sign language used is a combination of American Sign Language and Salvadoran Sign language. Most deaf understand and rely upon both. Their own unique Salvadoran Sign language is based on their language and is most useful in regular encounters; however, American Sign Language is often relied on within education due to the larger and more specific vocabulary. This is the reason that the deaf community within El Salvador sometimes relies upon both ASL and SSL in a combined form.
Filipino Sign Language (FSL) or Philippine Sign Language, is a sign language originating in the Philippines. Like other sign languages, FSL is a unique language with its own grammar, syntax and morphology; it is neither based on nor resembles Filipino or English. Some researchers consider the indigenous signs of FSL to be at risk of being lost due to the increasing influence of ASL.
Danish Sign Language is the sign language used in Denmark.
The French Sign Language or Francosign family is a language family of sign languages which includes French Sign Language and American Sign Language.
Armenian Sign Language is the deaf sign language of Armenia. It is not known if it bears any relationship to Caucasian Sign Language, which was used by Armenian women during periods of mourning because of speech taboos.
Sri Lankan Sign Language is a visual language used by deaf people in Sri Lanka and has regional variations stemming from the 25 Deaf schools in Sri Lanka.
Swiss-German Sign Language is the primary deaf sign language of the German-speaking part of Switzerland and of Liechtenstein. The language was established around 1828. In 2011 it was estimated that 7,500 deaf and 13,000 hearing people use DSGS. There are six dialects which developed in boarding schools for the deaf in Zürich, Bern, Basel, Lucerne, and St. Gallen, as well as in Liechtenstein.
The Japanese Sign Language (JSL) family is a language family of three sign languages: Japanese Sign Language (JSL), Korean Sign Language (KSL), and Taiwanese Sign Language (TSL).
The Swedish Sign Language family is a language family of sign languages, including Swedish Sign Language, Portuguese Sign Language, and Finnish Sign Language.
The German Sign Language family is a small language family of sign languages, including German Sign Language, Polish Sign Language and probably Israeli Sign Language. The latter also had influence from Austrian Sign Language, which is unrelated, and the parentage is not entirely clear.
Latvian Sign Language is a sign language commonly used by deaf people in Latvia. Linguists use LSL as an acronym for Latvian Sign Language.
Bulgarian Sign Language is the language, or perhaps languages, of the deaf community in Bulgaria.