Indian Sign Language
PrintA language of India
ISO 639-3
Alternate Names
Indo-Pakistani Sign Language, Urban Indian Sign Language
Population
2,680,000 in India (2003).
Location
Widespread. Also in Bangladesh, Pakistan.
Language Status
6a (Vigorous).
Classification
Dialects
Bangalore-Chennai-Hyderabad Sign Language, Kolkata Sign Language, Mumbai-Delhi Sign Language. Over 75% of signs from all regions are related. Mumbai-Delhi dialect is most influential. Some influence from British Sign Language [bfi] in the fingerspelling system and a few other signs developed indigenously in India. Related to Nepalese Sign Language [nsp].
Language Use
Deaf schools mainly do not use ISL, but vocational programs often do. Nearly all educated deaf are bilingual in a language of wider communication to some degree.
Language Development
Literacy rate in L2: Below 2%. Male literacy rate is higher than female as men more likely to attend school. TV. Videos. Dictionary.
Language Resources
2% or less of deaf children attend deaf schools. In 2001, interpretive training courses initiated in Mumbai by the Ali Yavar Jung National Institute for Hearing Handicapped.