Catalan Sign Language vs Spanish Sign Language national sign language issues

[Albert Bickford]

One of the best people to answer this question is Steve Parkhurst.  I'm not sure he subscribes to this list; if he doesn't respond in the next couple days, write to me privately and I'll put you in contact with him.  

My understanding of the situation in Spain is that there are substantial similarities in the sign language dialects used in various cities in Spain, but also significant dialect variation. The signing in Catalonia is the most divergent from the rest of the country, and in addition the Deaf community in Catalonia has a distinct sociolinguistic identity. It is, as you said, a matter of identity construction that the two varieties of signing are generally referred to as distinct languages. But, that's a pretty normal situation when distinguishing what's a language and what's a dialect: identity construction plays a major role in those decisions, sometimes more important than the actual structural differences or the ability to communicate.   

I should note something about the Ethnologue article.  The Ethnologue website is only updated about every three years, at the same time as the print version is published. A new version is in preparation right now, so the information currently on the website is a few years old. In the next edition, the name of the article will be changed to Catalan Sign Language, which is the English name that is normally used for this language in the linguistic literature, and is closer to the name used in Catalonia: Llengua De Signes Catalana. This parallels a change that was made to the ISO 639-3 standard last year; see http://www.sil.org/iso639-3/documentation.asp?id=csc. Both the Ethnologue and the ISO 639-3 standard attempt to describe the actual situation in the real world, not define it. Ultimately, it is the language communities themselves that need to decide whether they want to be identified as using the same language as another community or have a distinct identity.

Albert
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Dimitris Mavreas 
  To: slling-l at majordomo.valenciacc.edu 
  Sent: Saturday, February 23, 2008 8:03 AM
  Subject: [SLLING-L] Catalan Sign Language vs Spanish Sign Language national sign language issues


  Dear all,

  I have found on www.ethnologue.com that Catalonian Sign Language is (I copy) "An indigenous sign language, quite distinct from Spanish Sign Language. About 50% intelligibility by users of Spanish Sign Language" and that Spanish Sign Language has  "Small differences throughout Spain with no difficulties in intercommunication, except in Catalonia. Origin unknown, but it is reported that there are influences from American, French, and Mexican sign languages". I can realize the existence of two different sign languages in Spain but I wonder if anyone could give me more information about the origins of this differentiation (separate deaf schools, Deaf organizations).  

  Variability in sign languages is well documented for various sing languages all over the world but at the same time most nations -states are claimed to have one national sign language. It is really a question why in Spain two sign languages can be identified in regions where the oral languages of hearing majority are also separable (Spanish, Catalan). The case is similar in Belgium. Is this distinction absolute real or does it reflect identity construction issues? Moreover, standardization process in sign languages is probably a demand of hearing majority associated with similar evolutions in oral languages but I feel lately Deaf communities are also concerned. 

  I am working on language planning on Greek Sign Language and I am interested in similar research on other sign languages. 

  Best regards,

  Dimitris Mavreas

  Phd Candidate University of Athens, dmaureas at vodafone.net.gr 

   



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