Irish Sign Language
Irish Sign Language (ISL) is the sign language of Ireland. ISL is used in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, but in Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Sign Language (NISL) is also used. Irish Sign Language is more closely related to French Sign Language than to British Sign Language, which was first used in Dublin. It has influenced sign languages in Australia and South Africa, and has little relation to either spoken English or Irish.
The Irish Deaf Society says that ISL "arose from within deaf communities", "was developed by deaf people themselves" and "has been in existence for hundreds of years", but according to Ethnologue the language originated in the period of 1846-1849. The SIL code for Irish Sign Language is ISG. ISL is the SIL code for Israeli Sign Language.
See also
- Australian Sign Language
- South African Sign Language
External link
- "What is ISL?". Article from Irish Deaf Society website.
- Irish Sign Language. Entry on Ethnologue.
Categories: Language stubs | Sign languages | Languages in the United Kingdom | Languages of Ireland