Dominican Sign Language

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A language of Dominican Republic

ISO 639-3
doq
User Population

32,000 (2021 DBS/DOOR/SIL). Estimated 21,000–43,000, based on 0.2%–0.4% of the general population.

Location

Scattered.

Language Status

5 (Developing).

Classification
Sign language, Deaf community sign language
Dialects

None known. Lexical similarity: 85%–90% with ASL [ase].

Language Use

There are regional sign variations across the Dominican Republic. However, the sign language is most standardized along the center of the country from Santo Domingo to Puerto Plata. There are deaf schools, clubs, associations, and churches that use Dominican Sign Language. Used by all. Also use Spanish [spa].

Language Development

There are about 30 primary schools for deaf students across the country most of which use a variety with strong influence from ASL [ase]. Texts.

Language Resources
OLAC resources in and about Dominican Sign Language