There are an estimated three hundred sign languages in use around the world today. The number is not known with any confidence; new sign languages emerge frequently through creolization and de novo (and occasionally through language planning). In some countries, such as Sri Lanka and Tanzania, each school for the deaf may have a separate language, known only to its students and sometimes denied by the school. Some countries may share sign languages, although sometimes under different names (Croatian and Serbian, Indian and Pakistani). Deaf sign languages also arise outside educational institutions, especially in village communities with high levels of congenital deafness, but there are significant sign languages developed for the hearing as well, such as the speech-taboo languages used by some Aboriginal Australian peoples. Scholars are doing field surveys to identify the world's sign languages.....
The following list is grouped into three sections :
Deaf sign languages, which are the preferred languages of Deaf communities around the world; these include village sign languages, shared with the hearing community, and Deaf-community sign languages Auxiliary sign languages, which are not native languages but sign systems of varying complexity, used alongside spoken languages. Simple gestures are not included, as they do not constitute language. Signed modes of spoken languages, also known as manually coded languages, which are bridges between signed and spoken languages
The list of deaf sign languages is sorted regionally and alphabetically, and such groupings should not be taken to imply any genetic relationships between these languages (see List of language families).For a classification, .
Sign language list
Contemporary deaf sign languages
Africa There are at least 25 sign languages in Africa, according to researcher Nobutaka Kamei.Kamei, Nobutaka. The Birth of Langue des Signes Franco-Africaine: Creole ASL in West and Central French-speaking Africa, paper presented at Languages and Education in Africa (LEA), University of Oslo, June 19–22, 2006.Kamei, Nobutaka (2004). The Sign Languages of Africa, "Journal of African Studies" (Japan Association for African Studies) Vol. 64, March, 2004. [NOTE: Kamei lists 23 African sign languages in this article]. Some have distributions that are completely independent of those of African spoken languages. At least 13 foreign sign languages, mainly from Europe and America, have been introduced to at least 27 African nations; some of the 23 sign languages documented by Kamei have originated with or been influenced by them.
Language Origin Notes Adamorobe Sign Language village sign (ADS) (Ghana) Algerian Sign Language French Bamako Sign Language local deaf community used by adult men. Threatened by ASL. Berbey Sign Language family Dogon region, Mali Bouakako Sign Language village Ivory Coast Bura Sign Language village in Nigeria Burkina Sign Language localDiane Brentari, Sign Languages, p 406 Ouagadougou (Langue des Signes Mossi) Chadian Sign Language ASL:Nigerian? Douentza Sign Language local? village? Dogon region, Mali Eritrean Sign Language creole Eswatini Sign Language Irish, British, & local Ethiopian sign languages 1 million signers of an unknown number of languages Francophone African Sign Language ASL & spoken French The development of ASL in Francophone West Africa Gambian Sign Language ASL Ghanaian Sign Language ASL (GSE) Guinean Sign Language ASL Guinea-Bissau Sign Language local incipient/basic Hausa Sign Language local "Maganar Hannu" (HSL) – Northern Nigeria (Kano State) Kenyan Sign Language local? (KSL or LAK) Lesotho Sign Language BANZSL Libyan Sign Language Arab? Malagasy Sign Language French:Danish:Norwegian (or "Madagascan Sign Language") May be a dialect of Norwegian SL Maroua Sign Language local Cameroon Mauritian Sign Language isolate Moroccan Sign Language ASL Mozambican Sign Language Mbour Sign Language local M'Bour, Senegal Namibian Sign Language Paget-Gorman Nanabin Sign Language village a deaf family in Nanabin, Ghana Nigerian Sign Language ASL Rwandan Sign Language Sao Tome and Principe Sign Language rural Sierra Leonean Sign Language ASL Somali Sign Language Kenyan SL South African Sign Language Irish & British (SASL) Sudanese sign languages village & local? Government proposal to unify local languages Tanzanian sign languages local (seven independent languages, one for each deaf school in Tanzania, with little mutual influence) Tebul Sign Language village (Tebul Ure SL) Mopti, Mali (village of Tebul Ure) Tunisian Sign Language French:Italian Ugandan Sign Language local? (USL) Yoruba Sign Language local (YSL) Zambian Sign Language (ZASL) Zimbabwean sign languages "sign language" is an official language
Americas Language Origin Notes American Sign Language United States and Canada ASL is also officially recognized as a language in Canada due to the passage of Bill C-81, the Accessible Canada Act. Black American Sign Language is a dialect of ASL. Argentine Sign Language Spain and Italy (Lengua de Señas Argentina – LSA) Bay Islands Sign Language village Honduras. Deaf-blind. French Harbour Sign Language Bolivian Sign Language ASL/Andean "Lenguaje de Señas Bolivianas" (LSB) Brazilian Sign Language French Libras (Lingua Brasileira de Sinais) Recognized legally as a means of communication among the Brazilian Deaf community. Bribri Sign Language village? Brunca Sign Language village? Carhuahuaran Sign Language family Peru Cena village Brazil Chatino Sign Language family Chilean Sign Language French? Lengua de Señas Chilena (LSCH) Colombian Sign Language Andean (CSN) / Lengua de Señas Colombiana (LSC) Costa Rican Sign Language at least four languages in Costa Rica (Woodward 1991) Old Costa Rican Sign Language Cuban Sign Language Dominican Sign Language ASL Ecuadorian Sign Language Andean Greenlandic Sign Language Danish "Kalaallisut Ussersuutit" (DTS) Guatemalan Sign Language Guyanese Sign Language ? Haitian Sign Language ASL Honduras Sign Language Mexican? "Lengua de señas hondureña" (LESHO) Inmaculada Sign Language Peruvian Lima, Peru. Inmaculada is a school for the deaf. (see ref under Sivia SL) Inuit Sign Language village "Inuit Uqausiqatigiit Uukturausiq Uqajuittunut (General Inuit Sign Language for deaf)" also known as Tikuraq (ᑎᑯᕋᖅ)There may be more than one. The indigenous languages is an isolate. Jamaican Sign Language ASL (JSL) Jamaican Country Sign Language local (JCSL) Kajana Sign Language village Kajana Gebarentaal Keresan Sign Language village (KPISL) Macushi Sign Language ? Brazil [no data] Marajo Sign Language home sign? Brazil Maritime Sign Language British Maxakali Sign Language home sign? if not home sign, at least a young language. Brazil Mayan Sign Language village Mexican Sign Language French "Lengua de señas mexicana" (LSM) Navajo Sign Language Nicaraguan Sign Language local "Idioma de señas nicaragüense" (ISN) Old Cayman Sign Language village gave rise to Providence Island SL? Panamanian Sign Language ASL, some Salvadoran influence "Lengua de señas panameñas" Paraguayan Sign Language related to Uruguayan, Old-French Sign Language "Lengua de Señas Paraguaya" (LSPy) Papiu Yanomama Sign Language ? Brazil [no data] Peruvian Sign Language Andean "Lengua de señas peruana" Plains Sign Language historically a trade pidgin distinct from national norms national forms maintained by some Plains nations Puerto Rican Sign Language ASL "Lengua de señas puertorriqueña" Providence Island Sign Language village Quebec Sign Language French-ASL mix "Langue des Signes Québécoise" (LSQ) Salvadoran Sign Language isolate "Lengua de señas salvadoreña" Sivia Sign Language village Peru South Rupununi Sign Language village? Guyana Terena Sign Language village Brazil Trinidad and Tobago Sign Language isolate? ASL taught in schools; most deaf bilingual Uruguayan Sign Language Old French Sign Language "Lengua de Señas Uruguaya" Ka'apor Sign Language village ( Urubu Sign Language, although this name is pejorative) Venezuelan Sign Language isolate "Lengua de señas venezolana" (LSV)
Asia-Pacific Language Origin Notes Afghan Sign Language indig, or IPSL creole Alipur Sign Language village Amami Oshima Sign Language village or idioglossia Japan Auslan British (Australian Sign Language) Ban Khor Sign Language village (Plaa Pag is a dialect) Bhutanese Sign Language ? Burmese sign language ASL may be two languages Cambodian Sign Language = mixed LSF, BSL, ASL, various dialects within Chinese Sign Language Chinese "中國手語" (ZGS) Enga Sign Language village PNG Esharani isolate Iranian Sign Language, main sign language used in Iran Filipino Sign Language mixed ASL, various dialects (FSL) or Philippine Sign Language (Filipino: Wikang pasenyas ng mga Pilipino). Fiji Sign Language mixed indigenous–Auslan Ghandruk Sign Language village (Nepal) Hawaii Sign Language ? Hoailona ʻŌlelo o Hawaiʻi Hong Kong Sign Language Shanghainese Sign Language "香港手語" (HKSL). Derives from the southern dialect of CSL. Huay Hai Sign Language village (Thailand) [no data] Indo-Pakistani Sign Language Indian conflicting reports on whether Indian and Pakistani SL are one language or two. Jakarta Sign Language ASL:Malaysian?:Indonesian a variety of Indonesian Sign Language Japanese Sign Language Japanese "" (JSL) Jhankot Sign Language village (Nepal) Jumla Sign Language village (Nepal) Kailge Sign Language village, perhaps related to SSSL PNG Kata Kolok village ( Bali Sign Language, Benkala Sign Language) Laotian Sign Language (related to Vietnamese languages; may be more than one SL) Korean Sign Language (KSDSL) Korean "한국수어 (or 한국수화)" / "Hanguk Soo-hwa" Korean standard sign language – manually coded spoken KoreanNorth Korean Sign LanguageKorean, KSLDistinct variant in North Korea Macau Sign Language Shanghai Sign Language "澳門手語" (MSL). Derives from the southern dialect of CSL. Malaysian Sign Language ASL "Bahasa Isyarat Malaysia" (BIM)Maldivian Sign Language (Dhivehi Sign Language)Local, Indian, ASL Maunabudhuk–Bodhe Sign Language village Nepal Mehek Sign Language home sign? incipient? PNG Miyakubo Sign Language village Japan Mongolian Sign Language ? "Монгол дохионы хэл" Mount Avejaha Sign Language village PNG Na Sai Sign Language village (Thailand) [no data] Naga Sign Language village? (India) last reported in 1921 Nepali Sign Language Indian Indigenous sign language with inputs from Indian Sign Language, American Sign Language, International Sign, and others New Zealand Sign Language British (NZSL) Old Bangkok Sign Language local (or village?) Old Chiangmai Sign Language local (or village?) Papua New Guinean Sign Language British Penang Sign Language local (Malaysia) Rennellese Sign Language home sign, not a full language (Solomon Islands) Rossel Island Sign Language village PNG Samar Sign LanguagevillageOnly prevalent in San Julian and unrelated to mainstream FSL. Samoan Sign Language Auslan Selangor Sign Language ASL? (Malaysia) Sinasina Sign Language village? PNG, not clear if developed Singapore Sign Language ASL, Shanghainese Sign Language A blend of ASL, SEE2, Shanghainese Sign Language and locally-developed signs. Solomon Islands Sign Language Sri Lankan sign languages local (14 deaf schools with different languages) Taiwanese Sign Language Japanese 臺灣手語 / Taiwan Ziran Shouyu Tibetan Sign Language local Thai Sign Language ASL (TSL) "แบบสะกดนิ้วมือไทย" (incl. Hai Yai) Vietnamese sign languages local (Hanoi Sign Language, Ho Chi Minh Sign Language, Haiphong Sign Language; some may be related to some of the Thai languages) Wanib Sign Language village PNG Yogyakarta Sign Language ASL:Malaysian?:Indonesian a variety of Indonesian Sign Language Yolŋu Sign Language local
Europe