Editing Sign language (section)

== In society ==

=== Deaf communities and Deaf culture ===
{{Main|Deaf culture}}

When deaf people constitute a relatively small proportion of the general population, deaf communities often develop that are distinct from the surrounding hearing community.<ref name="WollLadd2003">{{citation
|last1 = Woll
|first1 = Bencie
|last2 = Ladd
|first2 = Paddy
|date = 2003
|chapter = Deaf communities
|editor-last1 = Marschark
|editor-first1 = Marc
|editor-last2 = Spencer
|editor-first2 = Patricia Elizabeth
|title = Oxford handbook of deaf studies, language, and education
|place = Oxford UK
|publisher = Oxford University Press
|isbn = 978-0-195-14997-5
}}</ref>
These deaf communities are very widespread in the world, associated especially with sign languages used in urban areas and throughout a nation, and the cultures they have developed are very rich.

One example of sign language variation in the deaf community is [[Black ASL]]. This sign language was developed in the black deaf community as a variant during the American era of segregation and racism, where young black deaf students were forced to attend separate schools than their white deaf peers.<ref>McCaskill, C. (2011). The hidden treasure of Black ASL: its history and structure. Washington, D.C.: Gallaudet University Press.</ref>

=== Use of sign languages in hearing communities ===
On occasion, where the prevalence of deaf people is high enough, a deaf sign language has been taken up by an entire local community, forming what is sometimes called a "village sign language"<ref name="ZeshanDeVos2012">{{cite book
|last1 = Zeshan
|first1 = Ulrike
|last2 = de Vos
|first2 = Connie
|date = 2012
|title = Sign languages in village communities: Anthropological and linguistic insights
|publisher = De Gruyter Mouton and Ishara Press
|place = Berlin and Nijmegen
}}</ref> or "shared signing community".<ref name="Kisch2008">{{cite journal
|last = Kisch
|first = Shifra
|date = 2008
|title = "Deaf discourse": The social construction of deafness in a Bedouin community
|journal = Medical Anthropology
|volume = 27
|issue = 3
|pages = 283–313
|doi = 10.1080/01459740802222807
|pmid = 18663641
|hdl = 11245/1.345005
|s2cid = 1745792
|url = http://dare.uva.nl/personal/pure/en/publications/deaf-discourse-the-social-construction-of-deafness-in-a-bedouin-community(eb0cb2ac-7045-40fe-8bcf-a40b2c534003).html
|access-date = 2018-12-20
|archive-date = 2024-05-26
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20240526073548/https://dare.uva.nl/search?identifier=eb0cb2ac-7045-40fe-8bcf-a40b2c534003
|url-status = live
}}</ref> Typically this happens in small, tightly integrated communities with a closed gene pool. Famous examples include:
* [[Martha's Vineyard Sign Language]], [[United States]]
* [[Al-Sayyid Bedouin Sign Language]], [[Israel]]
* [[Kata Kolok]], [[Bali]]
* [[Adamorobe Sign Language]], [[Ghana]] 
* [[Mayan Sign Language#Yucatec Mayan Sign Language|Yucatec Maya Sign Language]], [[Mexico]] 
In such communities deaf people are generally well-integrated in the general community and not socially disadvantaged, so much so that it is difficult to speak of a separate "Deaf" community.<ref name="WollLadd2003" />

Many [[Australian Aboriginal sign languages]] arose in a context of extensive speech taboos, such as during mourning and initiation rites. They are or were especially highly developed among the [[Warlpiri Sign Language|Warlpiri]], [[Warumungu people|Warumungu]], [[Dieri]], [[Kaytetye people|Kaytetye]], [[Arrernte people|Arrernte]], and [[Warlmanpa language|Warlmanpa]], and are based on their respective spoken languages.

A sign language arose among tribes of [[Native Americans in the United States|American Indians]] in the [[Great Plains]] region of [[North America]] (see [[Plains Indian Sign Language]]) before European contact. It was used by hearing people to communicate among tribes with different spoken [[language]]s, as well as by deaf people. There are especially users today among the [[Crow tribe|Crow]], [[Cheyenne]], and [[Arapaho]].

Sign language is also used as a form of alternative or augmentative communication by people who can hear but have difficulties using their voices to speak.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://napacenter.org/aac-autism|title=Benefits of Sign Language and Other Forms of AAC for Autism|date=3 June 2020|access-date=7 March 2022|archive-date=7 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220307202110/https://napacenter.org/aac-autism/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Increasingly, hearing schools and universities are expressing interest in incorporating sign language. In the U.S., enrollment for ASL (American Sign Language) classes as part of students' choice of second language is on the rise.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Looney|first1=Dennis|last2=Lusin|first2=Natalia|date=February 2018|title=Enrollments in Languages Other Than English in United States Institutions of Higher Education, Summer 2016 and Fall 2016: Preliminary Report|url=https://www.mla.org/content/download/83540/2197676/2016-Enrollments-Short-Report.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816111722/https://www.mla.org/content/download/83540/2197676/2016-Enrollments-Short-Report.pdf|archive-date=2021-08-16|publisher=[[Modern Language Association]]}}</ref> In New Zealand, one year after the passing of NZSL Act 2006 in parliament, a NZSL curriculum was released for schools to take NZSL as an optional subject. The curriculum and teaching materials were designed to target intermediate schools from Years 7 to 10, ([https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/schools-to-put-sign-language-on-curriculum/7XXV6VUP2WMOD77LOS7E3H4IRY/ NZ Herald], 2007).

=== Legal recognition ===
{{Main|Legal recognition of sign languages}}
Some sign languages have obtained some form of legal recognition, while others have no status at all. Sarah Batterbury has argued that sign languages should be recognized and supported not merely as an accommodation for those with disabilities, but as the communication medium of language communities.<ref>Sarah C. E. Batterbury. 2012. ''Language Policy'' 11:253–272.</ref>

Legal requirements covering sign language accessibility in media vary from country to country. In the [[United Kingdom]], the [[Broadcasting Act 1996]] addressed the requirements for blind and deaf viewers,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ofcom.org.uk/static/archive/itc/itc_publications/codes_guidance/sign_language_dtt/introduction.asp.html |title=ITC Guidelines on Standards for Sign Language on Digital Terrestrial Television |access-date=2008-01-30 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070423180334/http://www.ofcom.org.uk/static/archive/itc/itc_publications/codes_guidance/sign_language_dtt/introduction.asp.html |archive-date=2007-04-23 }}</ref> but has since been replaced by the [[Communications Act 2003]].

=== Interpretation ===
{{Main|Language interpretation#Sign language}}
[[File:2017 Woodstock 022 Język migowy.jpg|thumb|A [[Polish Sign Language]] interpreter at the [[Przystanek Woodstock]] in 2017]]
In order to facilitate communication between deaf and hearing people, sign language interpreters are often used.  Such activities involve considerable effort on the part of the interpreter, since sign languages are distinct [[natural language]]s with their own [[syntax]], different from any spoken language.

The interpretation flow is normally between a sign language and a spoken language that are customarily used in the same country, such as [[French Sign Language]] (LSF) and spoken French in France, [[Spanish Sign Language]] (LSE) to spoken Spanish in Spain, [[British Sign Language]] (BSL) and spoken English in the U.K., and [[American Sign Language]] (ASL) and spoken English in the U.S. and most of anglophone Canada (since BSL and ASL are distinct sign languages both used in English-speaking countries), etc. Sign language interpreters who can translate between signed and spoken languages that are not normally paired (such as between LSE and English), are also available, albeit less frequently.

[[File:Red de museos para la atencion a personas con discapacidad.webm|thumb|Video about access to cultural institutions in Mexico, with Mexican Sign Language interpretation and captions in Spanish]]

Sign language is sometimes provided for [[television program]]mes that include speech. The signer usually appears in the bottom corner of the screen, with the programme being [[broadcasting|broadcast]] full size or slightly shrunk away from that corner. Typically for [[press conference]]s such as those given by the [[Mayor of New York City]], the signer appears to stage left or right of the public official to allow both the speaker and signer to be in frame at the same time. Live sign interpretation of important televised events is increasingly common but still an informal industry <ref>{{Cite web |last1=de Wit |first1=Maya |last2=Pérez |first2=Sheyla M. |last3=Peterson |first3=Paal Richard |title=Sign language interpreting on TV and media: sharing best practices |url=https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5241699de4b09847f93f8123/t/5fc407ad18e72e5fdb558e80/1606682553723/Sign+language+interpreting+on+TV+and+media-+sharing+best+practices+.pdf |access-date=23 September 2023 |website=static1.squarespace.com |archive-date=24 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230424220627/https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5241699de4b09847f93f8123/t/5fc407ad18e72e5fdb558e80/1606682553723/Sign+language+interpreting+on+TV+and+media-+sharing+best+practices+.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> In traditional analogue broadcasting, some programmes are repeated outside main viewing hours with a signer present.<ref name="RNID">{{cite web |url=http://www.rnid.org.uk/howwehelp/research_and_technology/communication_and_broadcasting/signing_on_television/ |title=Sign Language on Television |access-date=2008-01-30 |publisher=RNID |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090417003132/http://www.rnid.org.uk/howwehelp/research_and_technology/communication_and_broadcasting/signing_on_television |archive-date=2009-04-17 }}</ref> Some emerging [[television]] technologies allow the viewer to turn the signer on and off in a similar manner to [[subtitles]] and [[closed captioning]].<ref name="RNID"/>

=== Technology ===
[[File:Deaf or HoH person at his workplace using a Video Relay Service to communicate with a hearing person via a Video Interpreter and sign language SVCC 2007 Brigitte SLI + Mark.jpg|thumb|right|A deaf person using a remote VRS interpreter to communicate with a hearing person]]

One of the first demonstrations of the ability for [[telecommunications]] to help sign language users communicate with each other occurred when [[AT&T Corporation|AT&T]]'s [[videophone]] (trademarked as the Picturephone) was introduced to the public at the [[1964 New York World's Fair]]– two deaf users were able to freely communicate with each other between the fair and another city.<ref name="BellLabs">Bell Laboratories RECORD (1969) [http://www.porticus.org/bell/pdf/picturephone.pdf A collection of several articles on the AT&T Picturephone] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120623215926/http://www.porticus.org/bell/pdf/picturephone.pdf |date=2012-06-23 }} (then about to be released) Bell Laboratories, Pg.134–153 & 160–187, Volume 47, No. 5, May/June 1969;</ref> However, video communication did not become widely available until sufficient bandwidth for the high volume of video data became available in the early 2000s.

The Internet now allows deaf people to talk via a [[video link]], either with a special-purpose [[videophone]] designed for use with sign language or with "off-the-shelf" [[videotelephony|video services]] designed for use with broadband and an ordinary computer [[webcam]].  The [[List of video telecommunication services and product brands|special videophones]] that are designed for sign language communication may provide better quality than 'off-the-shelf' services and may use data compression methods specifically designed to maximize the intelligibility of sign languages. Some advanced equipment enables a person to remotely control the other person's video camera, in order to zoom in and out or to point the camera better to understand the signing.

<!-- Note: the following text was originally copied from [[Language interpretation#Video interpreting|Language interpretation]]
but has been adapted extensively to fit into the context of this article.
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[[File:Video interpreter.svg|thumb|upright|Video interpreter sign used at VRS/VRI service locations]]
{{Main|Video remote interpreting|Video relay service}}

Interpreters may be physically present with both parties to the conversation but, since the technological advancements in the early 2000s, provision of interpreters in remote locations has become available.  In [[video remote interpreting]] (VRI), the two clients (a sign language user and a hearing person who wish to communicate with each other) are in one location, and the interpreter is in another. The interpreter communicates with the sign language user via a video telecommunications link, and with the hearing person by an audio link. VRI can be used for situations in which no on-site interpreters are available.

However, VRI cannot be used for situations in which all parties are speaking via telephone alone. With [[video relay service]] (VRS), the sign language user, the interpreter, and the hearing person are in three separate locations, thus allowing the two clients to talk to each other on the phone through the interpreter.

With recent developments in [[artificial intelligence]] in [[computer science]], some recent deep learning based [[machine translation of sign languages|machine translation algorithms]] have been developed which automatically translate short videos containing sign language directly to written language.<ref>{{cite conference |last1=Huang |first1=Jie |last2=Zhou |first2=Wengang |last3=Zhang |first3=Qilin |last4=Li |first4=Houqiang |last5=Li |first5=Weiping |title=Video-based Sign Language Recognition without Temporal Segmentation |conference=32nd AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI-18), Feb. 2–7, 2018, New Orleans, Louisiana, US |date=2018-01-30 |url=https://qilin-zhang.github.io/_pages/pdfs/VideobasedSignLanguageRecognitionwithoutTemporalSegmentation.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180329054531/https://qilin-zhang.github.io/_pages/pdfs/VideobasedSignLanguageRecognitionwithoutTemporalSegmentation.pdf |archive-date=2018-03-29 |arxiv=1801.10111 }}</ref>

Sign language has been incorporated into [[film]]; for example, all movies shown in Brazilian movie theaters must have a [[Brazilian Sign Language]] video track available to play alongside the film via a [[second screen]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=18 Sep 2017 |title=Deluxe Launches First Brazilian Sign Language (LIBRAS) Localization Service Outside Brazil |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/deluxe-launches-first-brazilian-sign-language-libras-localization-service-outside-brazil-300521137.html |access-date=14 Nov 2023 |website=Cision PR Newswire |publisher=Deluxe Entertainment Services Group Inc. through Cision PR Newswire |archive-date=14 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231114213722/https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/deluxe-launches-first-brazilian-sign-language-libras-localization-service-outside-brazil-300521137.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Accessibility & The Audio Track File |url=https://cinepedia.com/accessibility/accessibility-the-audio-track-file/ |access-date=14 November 2023 |website=Cinepedia |archive-date=14 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231114215528/https://cinepedia.com/accessibility/accessibility-the-audio-track-file/ |url-status=live }}</ref> {{clear}}

=== Sign Union flag ===
[[File:Sign Union flag.svg|thumb|The Sign Union flag|187x187px]]The Sign Union flag was designed by [[Arnaud Balard]]. After studying flags around the world and [[vexillology]] principles for two years, Balard revealed the design of the flag, featuring the stylized outline of a hand. The three colors which make up the flag design are representative of Deafhood and humanity (dark blue), sign language (turquoise), and enlightenment and hope (yellow). Balard intended the flag to be an international symbol which welcomes deaf people.<ref name="DeafArt2020">{{cite web |last1=Durr |first1=Patti |title=Arnaud Balard |url=https://deaf-art.org/profiles/arnaud-balard/ |website=Deaf Art |publisher=National Technical Institute for the Deaf |access-date=17 April 2022 |date=2020 |archive-date=17 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220417191152/https://deaf-art.org/profiles/arnaud-balard/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Language endangerment and extinction ===
As with any spoken language, sign languages are also vulnerable to becoming [[Endangered languages|endangered]].<ref>Bickford, J. Albert, and Melanie McKay-Cody (2018). [https://www.sil.org/system/files/reapdata/12/96/81/129681979560727324424065691676610323327/SignLanguageRevitalizationChapter_author_preprint.pdf "Endangerment and revitalization of sign languages"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210831131013/https://www.sil.org/system/files/reapdata/12/96/81/129681979560727324424065691676610323327/SignLanguageRevitalizationChapter_author_preprint.pdf |date=2021-08-31 }}, pp. 255–264 in ''The Routledge handbook of language revitalization''.</ref> For example, a sign language used by a small community may be endangered and even abandoned as users [[Language shift|shift]] to a sign language used by a larger community, as has happened with [[Hawai'i Sign Language]], which is almost extinct except for a few elderly signers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.endangeredlanguages.com/lang/hps|title=Did you know Hawai'i Sign Language is critically endangered?|website=Endangered Languages|access-date=2016-02-28|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307065744/http://www.endangeredlanguages.com/lang/hps|archive-date=2016-03-07}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sl_dDVctycgC|title=International Encyclopedia of Linguistics|date=2003-01-01|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780195139778|language=en|quote=The language is considered to be endangered. 9,600 deaf people in Hawaii now use American Sign Language with a few local signs for place-names and cultural items.|access-date=2016-02-28|archive-date=2023-01-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114125752/https://books.google.com/books?id=sl_dDVctycgC|url-status=live}}</ref> Even nationally recognised sign languages can be endangered; for example, New Zealand Sign Language is losing users.<ref>{{citation
 |last1        = McKee
 |first1       = Rachel
 |last2        = McKee
 |first2       = David
 |contribution = Assessing the vitality of NZSL
 |year         = 2016
 |title        = 12th International Conference on Theoretical Issues in Sign Language Research
 |place        = Melbourne, Australia
 |url          = http://www.victoria.ac.nz/lals/centres-and-institutes/dsru/McKee-Vitality-TISLR-2016-FINAL-edit-.pdf
 |url-status      = live
 |archive-url   = https://web.archive.org/web/20161101102128/http://www.victoria.ac.nz/lals/centres-and-institutes/dsru/McKee-Vitality-TISLR-2016-FINAL-edit-.pdf
 |archive-date  = 2016-11-01
}}</ref> Methods are being developed to assess the language vitality of sign languages.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Bickford | last2 = Albert | first2 = J. | last3 = Lewis | first3 = M. Paul | last4 = Simons | first4 = Gary F. | year = 2014 | title = Rating the vitality of sign languages | journal = Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development | volume = 36 | issue = 5| pages = 1–15 }}</ref>

{{col-float-begin|width=30em}}
;Endangered sign languages:
*[[Adamorobe Sign Language]] (AdaSL)<ref name="Velupillai">{{Cite book |last=Velupillai |first=Viveka |date=2012 |title=An Introduction to Linguistic Typology |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WXQinkZvEVAC |location=Amsterdam, Philadelphia |publisher=John Benjamins Publishing |pages=57–58 |isbn=9789027211989 |access-date=16 April 2020 |archive-date=26 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240526073542/https://books.google.com/books?id=WXQinkZvEVAC |url-status=live }}</ref>
*[[Ban Khor Sign Language]] (BKSL)<ref name="Velupillai"/>
*[[Benkala Sign Language]] (KK)<ref name="Velupillai"/>
*[[Finland-Swedish Sign Language]] (FinSSL)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sign languages in UNESCO's Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger Project|url=https://uclan.ac.uk/research/activity/atlas-of-world-languages-in-danger|access-date=2021-08-23|website=University of Central Lancashire|language=en|archive-date=2021-08-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210823105244/https://www.uclan.ac.uk/research/activity/atlas-of-world-languages-in-danger|url-status=live}}</ref>
*[[Hawai'i Sign Language]] (HPSL)<ref name="Velupillai"/>
*[[Inuit Sign Language]] (IUR)<ref name=Access>{{cite journal|last1=MacDougall|first1=Jamie|title=Access to justice for deaf Inuit in Nunavut: The role of "Inuit sign language"|journal=Canadian Psychology|date=February 2001|volume=41|issue=1|page=61|doi=10.1037/h0086880}}</ref>
*[[Jamaican Country Sign Language]] (KS)<ref>[[Ulrike Zeshan|Zeshan, Ulrike]]. (2007). ''The ethics of documenting sign languages in village communities.'' In Peter K. Austin, Oliver Bond & David Nathan (eds) [http://www.hrelp.org/publications/ldlt/papers/ldlt_31.pdf ''Proceedings of Conference on Language Documentation and Linguistic Theory.''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924031540/http://www.hrelp.org/publications/ldlt/papers/ldlt_31.pdf |date=2015-09-24 }} London: SOAS. p. 271.</ref>
*[[Maritime Sign Language]] (MSL)<ref name="Velupillai"/>
*[[Old Bangkok Sign Language]] (OBSL)<ref name="Velupillai"/>
*[[Old Chiangmai Sign Language]] (OCSL)<ref name="Velupillai"/>
*[[Plains Indian Sign Language]] (PISL)<ref name="Velupillai"/>
*[[Providencia Sign Language]] (PSL)<ref name="Velupillai"/>
{{col-float-break|width=30em}}
;Extinct sign languages:
* [[Angami Naga Sign Language]]
* [[Henniker Sign Language]]
* [[Martha's Vineyard Sign Language]] (MVSL)
* [[Old French Sign Language]] (VLSF)
* [[Old Kentish Sign Language]] (OKSL)
* [[Pitta Pitta language#Sign|Pitta Pitta sign language]]
* [[Plateau Sign Language]]
* [[Rennellese Sign Language]] (RSL)
* [[Sandy River Valley Sign Language]]
* [[Warluwarra language#Sign|Warluwarra sign language]]
{{col-float-end}}