Northern Ireland Sign Language
| Northern Ireland Sign Language | |
|---|---|
| NISL | |
| Native to | Ireland, United Kingdom |
| Region | Northern Ireland |
Native speakers | 3,500 (recognised as BSL signers)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | None (mis) |
Northern Ireland Sign language (NISL) is a predominant sign language used mainly by the Deaf community in Northern Ireland.
NISL as a language
NISL is described as being related to Irish Sign Language (ISL) at the syntactic level while the lexicon is based on British Sign Language (BSL)[2] and American Sign Language (ASL).[citation needed]
Naming
There is a debate ongoing in Northern Ireland's Deaf community about the name for NISL. A number of NISL users see Northern Ireland Sign Language as a distinct and separate language with a large amount of borrowing from both British Sign Language and Irish Sign Language though many other NISL signers argue against the use of the acronym NISL and believe that while their regional variant is distinct, it is still a part of British Sign Language. "[2] It is not clear whether it is because of their political allegiance or linguistic purposes.
The NISL training was arranged by Deaf Talkabout on 2 March 2012 to train the younger members of Northern Ireland at Crescent Arts Centre in Belfast, how to use NISL signs rather than rely on BSL signs that the younger people have picked up during their education/travels in England. NISL deafies are often pressured into taking up their peers' English signs on the grounds that local deafies who are educated in England are given better education than the ones in Northern Ireland. Deaf education in Northern is still inadequate to this day.
Status in Northern Ireland
As of March 2004[update] the British Government recognises only British Sign Language and Irish Sign Language as the official sign languages used in Northern Ireland.[1][3]
NISL as an endangered language
With a dwindling number of deaf children at Jordanstown Schools, there is a danger of NISL being taken over by British Sign Language with so many English signs replacing the NISL signs.
References
- ^ a b "Sign Language". Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure. Retrieved 2011-01-31.
- ^ a b Janzen, Terry (2005). Topics in Signed Language Interpreting: Theory And Practice. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company. pp. 256 & 265. ISBN 902721669X. OCLC 60742155. Retrieved 2008-06-22.
- ^ "Paul Murphy announces recognition for sign language". Northern Ireland Office. 2004-03-30. Retrieved 2011-01-31.
I am pleased to announce formal recognition for both British and Irish Sign Languages in Northern Ireland.
 | This language-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 | This article relating to deafness and deaf people is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |