American Sign Language

Non-indigenous.

Non-indigenous.

Non-indigenous.

Non-indigenous. Survey needed to determine how similar or different the sign language in Central African Republic is to standard ASL and to signing in other Francophone African countries.

Non-indigenous. As of 2015, LSAF is not officially recognized as a distinct language and would be considered a dialect of ASL, with influence from spoken and written French [fra] and local signs. The relationship of signing in Côte d’Ivoire to standard ASL in the United States and to LSAF in other francophone African countries has not been assessed. Further, there is significant variation within the country, again not systematically assessed, and a variety of names used. Some people regard these names as referring to distinct languages, others as dialects of the same language. Some deaf know more than one variety. There is also a local variety in the village of Bouakako, Hiré in southwestern Côte d’Ivoire. (2013 A. Tano).

Non-indigenous. Although developing out of Francophone ASL, Gabonese Sign Language has diverged enough that it is possibly a separate language. Deaf school founded in Libreville in early 1980s as outgrowth of work by American educator Andrew Foster (2010 S. Houge). Some influence from French Sign Language [fsl].

Non-indigenous. Certificate in sign language interpreting offered at Guam Community College.

Non-indigenous. The sign language commonly used by the deaf community in Haiti is currently reported as a dialect of ASL, but many regard it as a separate language, as there are significant lexical and grammatical differences and challenges to mutual intelligibility. ASL tends to be used in schools and with foreigners, which has hidden the separate existence of LSH from outsiders (Hochgesang and McAuliff 2016).

Non-indigenous. Filipino Sign Language [psp] and ASL are very similar but generally regarded by deaf people in the Philippines as distinct languages. Both are in use as a normal means of communication, with a lot of bilingualism. Different deaf schools prefer different languages.

Non-indigenous. A rubella epidemic in the 1980s greatly increased that generation’s deaf population (Parks and Williams 2011).

Non-indigenous. Although many people say they use ASL in Togo, they generally do not understand nor sign standard ASL from the United States. However, the sign language in Togo has not been separately recognized by ISO 639-3.