Icelandic Sign Language

Icelandic Sign Language
Icelandic Sign Language
Íslenskt táknmál
Native to	Iceland
Native speakers	250–300 (2010–2014)
Language family	French Sign Danish Sign Icelandic Sign Language; ;
Language codes
ISO 639-3	icl
Glottolog	icel1236

Icelandic Sign Language (Icelandic: Íslenskt táknmál) is the sign language of the deaf community in Iceland. It is based on Danish Sign Language; until 1910, deaf Icelandic people were sent to school in Denmark, but the languages have diverged since then. It is officially recognized by the state and regulated by a national committee.

Icelandic Sign Language is distinct from spoken Icelandic; in 1999, the Icelandic Ministry of Education stated that in the Icelandic basic curriculum, Icelandic Sign Language is the first language of deaf people, while spoken Icelandic is a second language. Therefore, deaf Icelanders should learn Icelandic Sign Language as their first language and Icelandic as their second language.

A lexical comparison of signs from Icelandic Sign Language with their counterparts in Danish Sign Language was undertaken to try to determine the degree of current lexical similarity. It was found that whilst the two sign languages are certainly related, 37% of signs analysed were completely different in structure and a further 16%, whilst similar, still contrasted in one of the four parameters of hand-configuration, location, movement or orientation.^[2]

^ Icelandic Sign Language at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
^ Aldersson, Russell R.; McEntee-Atalianis, Lisa J. (2008). "A Lexical Comparison of Signs from Icelandic and Danish Sign Languages". Sign Language Studies. 9 (1): 45–87. doi:10.1353/sls.0.0007. S2CID 145219047.

[e18-1] Icelandic Sign Language at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)

[2] Aldersson, Russell R.; McEntee-Atalianis, Lisa J. (2008). "A Lexical Comparison of Signs from Icelandic and Danish Sign Languages". Sign Language Studies. 9 (1): 45–87. doi:10.1353/sls.0.0007. S2CID 145219047.

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