European signed languages: towards a typological snapshot
Temas
Detalles
Signed languages are the natural, visual-gestural languages of Deaf communities. They are not universal – they differ from region to region. Even where a common spoken language is used, the signed languages may differ (e.g. while Dutch is spoken in Flanders and the Netherlands, there are two independent signed languages in these territories, Flemish Sign Language and Sign Language of the Netherlands). This illustrates how signed languages have evolved independently from spoken languages, though there is also evidence of language contact (e.g. the role of mouthing in signed languages). Despite a shared history of suppression since the 1880s, European signed languages have survived and evolved. Signed languages are minority languages in the territories in which they exist. There are also regional signed languages, for example, Catalonian Sign Language and Spanish Sign Language co-exist in Spain. In the 17th century, French approaches to deaf education were adopted in many countries, with the result that elements of old French Sign Language influenced local signed languages.
En: Bernd Kortmann and Johan van der Auwera (eds.), The Field of Linguistics.