List of sign languages
There are perhaps 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. 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; on the other hand, countries may share sign languages, although sometimes under different names. 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 in aboriginal Australia. 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
Sign language list
Contemporary deaf sign languages
Africa
There are at least 25 sign languages in Africa, according to researcher Nobutaka Kamei. 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 | |
| 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 | local | Ouagadougou |
| Chadian Sign Language | ASL:Nigerian? | |
| Douentza Sign Language | local? village? | Dogon region, Mali |
| Eritrean Sign Language | artificial | - |
| 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 | |
| Guinean Sign Language | ASL | |
| Guinea-Bissau Sign Language | local | incipient/basic |
| Hausa Sign Language | local | "Maganar Hannu" – Northern Nigeria |
| Kenyan Sign Language | local? | |
| Lesotho Sign Language | BANZL | |
| Libyan Sign Language | Arab? | |
| Malagasy Sign Language | French:Danish:Norwegian | 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 | ? | |
| Sierra Leonean Sign Language | ASL | |
| Somali Sign Language | Kenyan SL | |
| South African Sign Language | Irish & British | |
| Sudanese sign languages | village & local? | Government proposal to unify local languages |
| Tanzanian sign languages | local | |
| Tebul Sign Language | village | Mopti, Mali |
| Tunisian Sign Language | French:Italian | |
| Ugandan Sign Language | local? | |
| Yoruba Sign Language | local | |
| Zambian Sign Language | ||
| Zimbabwean sign languages | "sign language" is an official language |
Americas
Asia/Pacific
| Language | Origin | Notes |
| Afghan Sign Language | indig, or ASL creole? | |
| Alipur Sign Language | village | |
| Amami Oshima Sign Language | village or idioglossia | Japan |
| Auslan | British | |
| Ban Khor Sign Language | village | |
| 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" |
| Enga Sign Language | village | PNG |
| Ghandruk Sign Language | village | |
| Hawaii Sign Language | ? | |
| Hong Kong Sign Language | Shanghai Sign Language | "香港手語". Derives from the southern dialect of CSL. |
| Huay Hai Sign Language | village | |
| 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 | "" |
| Jhankot Sign Language | village | |
| Jumla Sign Language | village | |
| Kailge Sign Language | village, perhaps related to SSSL | PNG |
| Kata Kolok | village | |
| Laotian Sign Language | ||
| Korean Sign Language | "한국수어 " / "Hanguk Soo-hwa" Korean standard sign language – manually coded spoken Korean | |
| Macau Sign Language | "澳門手語" | |
| Malaysian Sign Language | ASL | "Bahasa Isyarat Malaysia" |
| 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 | |
| Naga Sign Language | village? | 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 | |
| Old Bangkok Sign Language | local | |
| Old Chiangmai Sign Language | local | |
| Papua New Guinean Sign Language | British | - |
| Penang Sign Language | local | |
| Philippine Sign Language | French | |
| Rennellese Sign Language | home sign, not a full language | |
| Rossel Island Sign Language village | PNG | - |
| Samoan Sign Language | Auslang | |
| Selangor Sign Language | ASL? | |
| Sinasina Sign Language | village? | PNG, not clear if developed |
| Singapore Sign Language | local | A blend of ASL, SEE2, SSL and locally-developed signs. |
| Solomon Islands Sign Language | - | |
| Sri Lankan sign languages | local | |
| Taiwanese Sign Language | Japanese | 臺灣手語 / Taiwan Ziran Shouyu |
| Tibetan Sign Language | local | |
| Thai Sign Language | ASL | "แบบสะกดนิ้วมือไทย" |
| Vietnamese sign languages | local | |
| Wanib Sign Language | village | PNG |
| Yogyakarta Sign Language | ASL:Malaysian?:Indonesian | a variety of Indonesian Sign Language |
| Yolŋu Sign Language | local |
Europe
| Language | Origin | Notes |
| Albanian Sign Language | "Gjuha e Shenjave Shqipe" | |
| Armenian Sign Language | isolate | |
| Azerbaijani Sign Language | French:Austro-Hungarian | "Azərbaycan işarət dili" |
| Austrian Sign Language | French:Austro-Hungarian | "Österreichische Gebärdensprache" |
| British Sign Language | British | |
| Bulgarian Sign Language | French:Austro-Hungarian:Russian | |
| Catalan Sign Language | French? | "Llengua de Signes Catalana" |
| Croatian Sign Language | French:Austro-Hungarian:Yugoslav | "Hrvatski Znakovni Jezik" |
| Czech Sign Language | French:Austro-Hungarian | "Český znakový jazyk" |
| Cypriot Sign Language | ASL×GSL | "Κυπριακή Νοηματική Γλώσσα" |
| Danish Sign Language | French | "Dansk Tegnsprog" |
| Dutch Sign Language | French | "Nederlandse Gebarentaal" |
| Estonian Sign Language | "Eesti viipekeel" | |
| Finnish Sign Language | Swedish | "Suomalainen viittomakieli" |
| Finland-Swedish Sign Language | Swedish | "finlandssvenskt teckenspråk" or "suomenruotsalainen viittomakieli". A single Swedish school in Finland, now closed. |
| Flemish Sign Language | Lyons?:Belgian | "Vlaamse Gebarentaal" |
| French Sign Language | "Langues des Signes Française" | |
| Georgian Sign Language | ? | |
| German Sign Language | German | "Deutsche Gebärdensprache" |
| Greek Sign Language | French-ASL mix | "Ελληνική Νοηματική Γλώσσα" |
| Hungarian Sign Language | "Magyar jelnyelv" | |
| Icelandic Sign Language | French:Danish | "Íslenskt Táknmál" |
| Irish Sign Language | French | "Teanga Chomharthaíochta na hÉireann" |
| Italian Sign Language | French | "Lingua dei Segni Italiana" |
| Kosovar Sign Language | French:Austro-Hungarian:Yugoslav | "Gjuha e Shenjave Kosovare" |
| Latvian Sign Language | French | "Latviešu Zīmju Valoda" |
| Lithuanian Sign Language | "Lietuvių gestų kalba" | |
| Lyons Sign Language | isolate | |
| Macedonian Sign Language | ? | Македонски знаковен јазик / Makedonski znakoven jazik |
| Maltese Sign Language | "Lingwi tas-Sinjali Maltin" | |
| Northern Ireland Sign Language | British | |
| Norwegian Sign Language | French:Danish | "Tegnspråk" |
| Polish Sign Language | Old-French, German | "Polski Język Migowy" |
| Portuguese Sign Language | Swedish | "Língua Gestual Portuguesa" |
| Romanian Sign Language | French | "Limbaj Mimico-Gestual Românesc" |
| Russian Sign Language | French:Austro-Hungarian | "Russkiy zhestovyi yazyk" / русский жестовый язык |
| Slovakian Sign Language | "Slovenský posunkový jazyk" | |
| Slovenian Sign Language | French:Austro-Hungarian:Yugoslav | "Slovenski znakovni jezik" |
| Spanish Sign Language | isolate | "Lengua de signos española" |
| Swedish Sign Language | Swedish | "Svenskt teckenspråk" |
| Swiss-French Sign Language | French? | "Langage Gestuelle" |
| Swiss-German Sign Language | French? | "Deutschschweizer Gebärdensprache" |
| Swiss-Italian Sign Language | French? | |
| Turkish Sign Language | Isolate | "Türk İşaret Dili" |
| Ukrainian Sign Language | French | "Українська жестова мова " |
| Valencian Sign Language | "Llengua de Signes en la Comunitat Valenciana" | |
| Walloon Sign Language | Lyons?:Belgian | "Langue des Signes de Belgique Francophone" |
| Yugoslav Sign Language | French:Austro-Hungarian |
Middle East
Historical deaf sign languages
- Martha's Vineyard Sign Language
- Old French Sign Language – ancestral to the French family
- Old Kent Sign Language
Auxiliary sign languages
- Australian Aboriginal sign languages
- Baby Sign – using signs to assist early language development in young children.
- Contact Sign – a pidgin or contact language between a spoken language and a sign language, e.g. Pidgin Sign English.
- Curwin Hand Signs – a technique which allows musical notes to be communicated through hand signs.
- Indigenous Sign, a contact language based on Umpila Sign
- International Sign – an auxiliary language used by deaf people in international settings.
- Makaton – a system of signed communication used by and with people who have speech, language or learning difficulties.
- Mofu-Gudur Sign Language
- Monastic sign language
- Plains Indian Sign Language
- Plateau Sign Language
- Signalong – international sign assisted communication techniques used to support children and adults with communication or learning difficulties
Manual modes of spoken languages
- General
- * Cued Speech – a hand/mouth system to render spoken language phonemes visually intelligible.
- * Fingerspelling – alphabetic signs to represent the written form of a spoken language.
- English
- * Manually Coded English
- * Signing Exact English
- *Makaton
- Malay
- * Bahasa Malaysia Kod Tangan
- Speech-taboo languages
- * Caucasian Sign Language
- * Australian Aboriginal sign languages
Genetic classification of sign languages