death of sign language

[Ulrike Zeshan]

HI, UNESCO has had a project on language endangerment, and a methodology for assessing language vitality was developed by the UNESCO expert group in 2003.

Web link:

http://www.unesco.org/new/en/culture/themes/endangered-languages/language-vitality/

This can apply to sign languages in principle, but a number of questions for assessment of the language situation need to be adapted for sign languages. We have started doing some work on this with UNESCO and WFD.

Ulrike



From: linguists interested in signed languages [mailto:SLLING-L at LISTSERV.VALENCIACOLLEGE.EDU] On Behalf Of Anthony Chong
Sent: 27 March 2012 03:46
To: SLLING-L at LISTSERV.VALENCIACOLLEGE.EDU
Subject: Re: death of sign language


Oh right. If there are only less than 10 users, the language is endangered. Can it apply the same to sign language?
I am asking because the number of signers can't be comparable to the speakers.

________________________________
Date: Mon, 26 Mar 2012 18:34:16 -0700
From: susan.fischer at RIT.EDU<mailto:susan.fischer at RIT.EDU>
Subject: Re: death of sign language
To: SLLING-L at LISTSERV.VALENCIACOLLEGE.EDU<mailto:SLLING-L at LISTSERV.VALENCIACOLLEGE.EDU>

I believe that if there are were than 10 users, it is endangered but not dead.
Susan D. Fischer
Susan.Fischer at rit.edu<mailto:Susan.Fischer at rit.edu>

Center for Research on Language
UCSD




On Mar 26, 2012, at 5:17 PM, Anthony Chong wrote:



 Hello all,

I am curious. How will we be able to measure sign language death? Can we consider a language as death language if there less than 10 speakers?
Let me know.

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