Sociolinguistics Symposium 14 and the standardisation of sign languages

[Trude Schermer]

-----Oorspronkelijk bericht-----
Van: For the discussion of linguistics and signed languages.
[mailto:SLLING-L at ADMIN.HUMBERC.ON.CA]Namens Dan Parvaz
Verzonden: dinsdag 7 augustus 2001 17:37
Aan: SLLING-L at ADMIN.HUMBERC.ON.CA
Onderwerp: Re: Sociolinguistics Symposium 14 and the standardisation of
sign languages


> 2) Is it happening in Belgium or other countries?  I'd like to hear from
> anyone who's involved in recognition advocacy who's been confronted with
> demands like this.

Yes, this is happening in the Netherlands. The Ministery of Education has
demanded a standardised lexicon for Sign Language of the Netherlands in
order to recognize SLN as an official language. It has been agreed upon that
we will create a "standard" basic lexicon of 2500 signs and another 2000
signs specifically for teaching purposes. These standard signs will be used
in the schools for the deaf and in the courses for parents and teachers of
deaf children. There is regional variety in the Netherlands basically
between the North and the West/South of the country. The decisions about
which signs will be standard are taken by deaf people from different parts
of the country based on a set of (linguistic) criteria.

trude schermer