Japanese Sign Language
Japanese Sign Language (日本手話, Nihon Shuwa), also known as JSL[2] or NS,[3] is the main sign language in Japan.
| Japanese Sign Language | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Japan |
Native speakers | (320,000 cited 1986)[1] |
Japanese Sign Language family
| |
| Official status | |
| Regulated by | Japanese Federation of the Deaf |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | jsl |
History
change
In 1878, the first school for the deaf was established in Kyoto.
In 1900, the Tokyo School for the Deaf (東京都立ろう学校, Tokyo ro-a gakko) was founded.
In 1948, Deaf children were required to attend school.[4]
In the late-20th century, Japanese sign language began to be recognized.[5]
The Japanese Federation of the Deaf is for those Japanese whose primary language is JSL.[6]
JSL has a friend in the Imperial family. Kiko, Princess Akishino has studied JSL and is a trained sign language interpreter.[7] She also signs in informal Deaf gatherings.[8]
In 2006, the Japanese government amended the "Supporting Independence of People with Disabilities Act." The new language in the law encourages local governments to increase the number and use of JSL interpreters.[9]
Elements of Japanese Sign Language (JSL)
changeAs in other sign languages, JSL (usually called simply 手話 shuwa, "hand talk") consists of words, or signs, and the grammar with which they are put together.
Examples of JSL signs
change-
A noun: "bicycle" -
A verb: "to be" -
A Chinese character: "middle" (中, naka, chū) -
A grammatical particle: interrogative sentence ending
References
change- ↑ Japanese Sign Language at Ethnologue (16th ed., 2009)
- ↑ JSL is an English acronym. JSL stands for "Japanese Sign Language".
- ↑ NS is a romaji acronym. NS stands for "Nihon Shuwa".
- ↑ Monaghan, Leila Frances. (2003). Many Ways to be Deaf: International Variation in Deaf Communities, p. 211.
- ↑ Nakamura, Karen. (2006). Deaf in Japan: Signing and the Politics of Identity, p. 9, citing Kimura, Harumi and Yasuhiro Ichida. 1995. "Roubunka Sengen" (An Explanation of Deaf Culture), Gendai Shisou, Vol. 23, No. 3, pp. 354-399.
- ↑ Nakamura, Karen. "Resistance and Co‐optation: the Japanese Federation of the Deaf and its Relations with State Power," Social Science Japan Journal (SSJJ) (2002) Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 17-35.
- ↑ Imperial Household Agency. Their Imperial Highnesses Prince and Princess Akishino
- ↑ "Princess Kiko chats with Deaf soccer players in sign language after film show," Archived 2011-07-08 at the Wayback Machine Deaf Japan News. September 7, 2010.
- ↑ Saruhashi, Junko and Yuko Takeshita. "Ten Linguistic Issues in Japan: The Impact of Globalization," Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
Further reading
change- Monaghan, Leila Frances. (2003). Many Ways to be Deaf: International Variation in Deaf Communities. Washington, D.C.: Gallaudet University Press. ISBN 9781563681356; OCLC 248814292
- Nakamura, Karen. (2006). Deaf in Japan: Signing and the Politics of Identity. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. ISBN 9780801443503; ISBN 9780801473562; OCLC 238810838
Other websites
change- Japanese Association of Sign Linguistics (JASL) Archived 2004-09-25 at the Wayback Machine
- 手話教室 (online JSL lessons and dictionary, in Japanese)
- Online JSL dictionaries Archived 2008-09-18 at the Wayback Machine
- Kyoto Prefectural Education Center Website with explanations in English
