Japanese Sign Language family

The Japanese Sign Language (JSL) family is a language family of three sign languages: Japanese Sign Language (JSL), Korean Sign Language (KSL), and Taiwanese Sign Language (TSL).^[1]

There is little difficulty in communication between the three languages.^[2]

History

The first Japanese school for the deaf was established in Kyoto in 1878.

JSL spread with the Japanese colonial administration into Korea and Taiwan. According to Ethnologue, sign language had been used in Korea since 1889, predating the Japanese occupation, with use in schools since 1908. TSL dates from 1895, during the colonial period, when two schools for the deaf were established on north and south of the island. TSL shares 60% of its vocabulary with JSL.^[2]

Functional markers

JSL family languages are characterized by grammatical structures and features which are not found in the oral languages of the surrounding community. Although Japanese, Korean, and Mandarin are unrelated, those using JSL, KSL and TSL can interact easily because of the commonalities all share, such as functional markers .^[3] For example, a feature unique to these three languages is the lexical encoding of gender. Some signs when made with the thumb indicate a male, while the corresponding signs made with the little finger indicate a female.^[4]

As in other sign languages, they incorporate non-manual markers with lexical, syntactic, discourse, and affective functions. These include brow raising and furrowing, frowning, head shaking and nodding, and leaning and shifting the torso.^[5]

Notes

References

• Brentari, Diane. (2010). Sign Languages. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 13-ISBN 9780521883702/10-ISBN 0521883709; OCLC 428024472
• Sterkenburg, Petrus Gijsbertus Jacobus van. (2008). Unity and Diversity of Languages. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 13-ISBN 9789027232489/10-ISBN 9027232482; OCLC 226308129
• Wittmann, Henri (1991). "Classification linguistique des langues signées non vocalement," Revue québécoise de linguistique théorique et appliquée. Vol. 10, No. 1, pp. 215–288, 283.