Egyptian Sign Language
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A language of Egypt
Alternate Names
ESL, Egypt Sign Language, LIM, Lughat al-Ishaara al-Masriya, Lughat al-‘Ishāra al-Maṣriyya
User Population
500,000 (2021 DBS/DOOR/SIL). Estimated 300,000–600,000 deaf signers, assuming 0.3%–0.6% of the total population. Another estimate: 474,000 (2014 IMB).
Location
Scattered.
Language Status
5 (Developing).
Dialects
None known. Survey needed. Not the same as Unified Arabic Sign Language, an artificial system promoted by representatives of 18 Arabic-speaking countries (Rashdan 2016). Relatively low lexical similarity with Jordanian Sign Language (LIU) [jos].
Typology
Content Q-Word Position: Final; Content Q-Word: One general plus some specific; Negation: Manual-dominant, Special emphatic negators; Fingerspelling: One-handed (Arabic script).
Language Use
Vigorous. Interpreters in some mosques. Used by all.
Language Development
Dictionary. Bible portions: 2014. Agency: National Association for the Deaf.
Mouthing sometimes distinguishes manually-identical signs. Several fingerspelling systems used in schools; the one traditionally used by deaf adults is one-handed. Over 200 schools for deaf children, also mainstream education and special classes in public schools; classroom use varies from none (oralism) to signing by non-fluent teachers. Prior to 2015, university education was only available to those educated entirely in public schools. (Rashdan 2016). Taught as L2. Muslim, Christian.