The following is the entry for this language as it appeared in the 14th edition (2000).
It was superseded by the corresponding entry in the 15th edition (2005). See also the corresponding entry in the current edition of Ethnologue.
SIL code: MRE
ISO 639-2: sgn
| Population | No estimate available. |
| Region | Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. |
| Classification | Deaf sign language. |
| Comments | The early sign language was based on a regional one in Weald, England, where the deaf persons' ancestors had lived. French Sign Language was introduced to Martha's Vineyard in 1817. MVSL was later combined with American Sign Language, but never became identical to ASL. From 1692 to 1910 nearly all hearers on Martha's Vineyard were bilingual in English and sign language. The first deaf person arrived in 1692. From 1692 to 1950 there was a high rate of hereditary deafness. In the 19th century, 1/5700 of Americans were deaf, 1/155 in Martha's Vineyard, 1/25 in one town, 1/4 in one neighborhood. Extinct. |
