Quebec Sign Language

Quebec Sign Language (LSQ)
Langue des signes québécoise
Native to	Canada
Region	Quebec, parts of Ontario and New Brunswick. Some communities within francophone groups in other regions of Canada.
Native speakers	~695 (2016) L2 speakers: ~4,665
Language family	Francosign Old LSF LSF–ASL contact language Quebec Sign Language (LSQ)
Writing system	none si5s, ASLwrite
Official status
Official language in	none
Recognised minority language in	Ontario only in domains of: legislation, education and judiciary proceedings
Language codes
ISO 639-3	fcs
Glottolog	queb1245
ELP	Quebec Sign Language

Mixi gamming

toocj truongwr hi thanh do

LSQ is recognized as an official language in Ontario only in domains of education, legislation and judicial activities after the passing of Bill 213 within the Ontario Legislative Assembly. Across the rest of Canada, there is no protection or oversight for the language as neither federal, provincial nor territorial governments recognize LSQ as a language other than Ontario.

In Quebec in 2002 following the passing of Bill 104, recommendations presented to Commission of the Estates-General were rejected. In 2013, the Québec Cultural Society for the Deaf presented additional recommendations during discussions on the update of Bill 14 which would ultimately modify the Charter of the French Language. Three recommendations were proposed modifying the Charter such that LSQ is recognized along the same lines as done for the language and culture of North American Aboriginal Peoples and the Inuit of Quebec. The first was noting that LSQ is the primary language of communication for Deaf Quebecois, the second that deaf youths be taught bilingually (French/LSQ) in all cadres of education and the third that French be rendered accessible to all d/Deaf people within the province. Bill 14 was never voted on by the National Assembly due to the minority party being unable to amass enough support from other parties.

Population

The population of any sign-language-speaking community is difficult to ascertain due to a variety of factors, namely imprecise census data and lack of connection with the communities themselves. The same is true in Canada with LSQ speakers where census data through StatsCan captures basic information that renders comprehension of the situation difficult as the numbers do not accurately portray the language population. StatsCan reports as of 2011 just 455 speakers of LSQ, however it is estimated that 2.6% (or 5,030 people) of Quebec’s population possessed hearing deficiency. That is not to say that every person with hearing loss signs LSQ, but it also misses the many people who use LSQ daily who are also hearing: Children of Deaf Adults, interpreters, etc.

Geographic distribution

LSQ is used primarily within Quebec. Outside, the largest communities of LSQ users is in Sudbury, Ottawa and Toronto with smaller notable communities in parts of New Brunswick. Additionally, LSQ can be found in francophone communities across the country, but no real data has been collected on hard numbers.

In Montreal, LSQ is displaced in certain areas by ASL where it co-habitates. Generally, ASL can be found in anglophone communities, however it is not uncommon to meet people bilingual in ASL and LSQ in much the same way one would meet a bilingual English-French person. While ASL is growing within Montreal, LSQ is still a strong language in the city, supported by speakers from across the province.

See also

• Signed French

External links

• (in French) Centre de Communication Adaptée
• (in French) Office des personnes handicapées