Varieties of American Sign Language
In 1973, American Sign Language was brought to Bolivia by Eleanor and Lloyd Powlison, missionaries from the United States.Today LSB is used by more deaf Bolivians than the reported 400 in 1988 in the Ethnologue report,[2] due to the introduction of bilingual education (LSB as primary language and Spanish as secondary language) originally in Riberalta and its adoption to other schools in Bolivia with the support of the Education Ministry of Bolivia and the growing social exchange of the Deaf.It is used primarily by people born after 1960, and is about 60% cognate with American Sign Language (Woodward 1991, 1992).This is because most schools for the deaf in the region were founded by the American missionary Andrew Foster or by his students, starting in 1974.[citation needed] The relationship of LSAF to standard American Sign Language has not been systematically assessed.[13] As in other African derivations of ASL, the language has been affected by local gestures and conventions.This project is run by the Haitian Deaf Community, in collaboration with Gallaudet University.Foster went on to establish the first school for the deaf in Nigeria a few years later, and Nigerian Sign Language shows influence from GSL.The language is used in three programs for the deaf, but not throughout the country: It is not used in the large cities of Rabat, Tangier, or Casablanca, for example.Deaf education in Nigeria was based on oral method and existing indigenous sign languages were generally regarded as gestural communication prior to Andrew Foster's arrival.As in much of West Africa, the first schools for the deaf were founded by the American missionary Andrew Foster or his students.
American Sign LanguageFrench Sign Languagesubstratummixed languagesBoliviaLanguage familyFrench SignAmerican SignISO 639-3GlottologEthnologueRiberaltaBurundiAndrew FosterUgandanRwandan SignCosta RicaFrench familyOld Costa Rican Signsign languageDeaf communityBribri Sign LanguageBrunca Sign LanguageDominican Republichome signIvory CoastCameroonFrancophone WestCentral AfricaFrenchAlgerian Sign Languagefrancophone AfricaChadian Sign LanguageNigerian Sign LanguageMadagascar Sign LanguageTunisian Sign LanguageGallaudet UniversityAdamorobe Sign LanguageNanabin Sign LanguageAkuapim-MampongNavrongoGreek Sign LanguageromanizedIndonesian Sign LanguageIndonesiandeaf sign languagesIndonesiaJamaicaJamaican Country Sign LanguageMalaysian Sign LanguageMalaysiaMoroccoTetouanvillage sign languageNigeriaRepublic of CongoGhanaian Sign LanguageSIL InternationalHausa Sign LanguageYoruba Sign LanguageBura Sign LanguagePanamaSalvadoran Sign LanguageChiriqui Sign LanguageFilipino Sign LanguageFilipinosign languageslanguagegrammarsyntaxmorphologyPuerto RicoSierra LeoneFreetownschools for the deafKuala LumpurSelangorMalaysian SignPenang Sign LanguageSingapore Sign Languagehard of hearingSingaporeShanghainese Sign Language (SSL)American Sign Language (ASL)Signing Exact English (SEE-II)Thai Sign LanguageThailandBlack American Sign LanguageOxford University PressEl Diario de HoyList of sign languagesList by number of signersAustralian AboriginalDiyariDjingiliEltye eltyarrenkeIltyeme iltyemeJaraldeKalkutunguMiriwoongMudburraPitha PithaRdaka rdakaUmpilaFar North QueenslandWarlmanpaWarluwaraWarramungaWorora KinshipYir YorontYolŋuWestern DesertManjiljarraMeriamWestern Torres Strait IslanderArab (Ishaaric)EgyptianKuwaitiLibyanQatari UnifiedYemeniLevantineEmiratiBANZSLAuslanPapua New Guinean (PNGSL)