Catalan Sign Language vs Spanish Sign Language national sign language issues

[Valerie Sutton]

There is a SignPuddle on the web for writing "Llengua De Signes  
Catalana"...

Catalán SignPuddle
http://www.signbank.org/signpuddle/index1.html#sgn-ES-ct

Go to the link above and click on the Diccionario icon. You will see  
there are 2,622 signs written in the Diccionario Catalán, and two  
short documents written in the Literatura Catalán...

Many of these signs have been written by Steve Parkhurst and other co- 
workers in Barcelona...


Val ;-)


Valerie Sutton
Sutton at SignWriting.org

SignPuddle
Create SignWriting Documents Online
http://www.SignBank.org/signpuddle




---------


On Feb 23, 2008, at 9:27 AM, Albert Bickford wrote:

> 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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