Indo-Pakistani Sign Language (IPSL) is the predominant
sign language
Sign languages (also known as signed languages) are languages that use the visual-manual modality to convey meaning, instead of spoken words. Sign languages are expressed through manual articulation in combination with non-manual markers. Sign l ...
in
the subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a physiographical region in Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India ...
of South Asia, used by at least 15 million
deaf
Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written ...
signers. As with many sign languages, it is difficult to estimate numbers with any certainty, as the
Census of India does not list sign languages and most studies have focused on the north and urban areas.
[Indian Sign Language](_blank)
Ethnologue As of 2021, it is the most used sign language in the world, and
Ethnologue ranks it as the 151st most "spoken" language in the world.
Some scholars regard varieties in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and possibly Nepal as dialects of Indo-Pakistani Sign Language. Others recognize some varieties as separate languages. The
ISO standard
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO ) is an international standard development organization composed of representatives from the national standards organizations of member countries. Membership requirements are given in Ar ...
currently distinguishes:
* Indian Sign Language
ins,
* Pakistan Sign Language
pks,
* West Bengal Sign Language (Kolkata Sign Language)
wbs, and
* Nepalese Sign Language
nsp.
Status of sign language
Deaf schools in
South Asia
South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...
are overwhelmingly
oralist
Oralism is the education of deaf students through oral language by using lip reading, speech, and mimicking the mouth shapes and breathing patterns of speech.Through Deaf Eyes. Diane Garey, Lawrence R. Hott. DVD, PBS (Direct), 2007. Oralism cam ...
in their approach.
Unlike American Sign Language (ASL) and sign languages of European countries, IPSL does not have much official government support. The Deaf communities of the Indian subcontinent are still struggling for IPSL to gain the status of sign language as a minority language. Though sign language is used by many deaf people in the subcontinent, it is not used officially in schools for teaching purposes.
India
In 2005, the National Curricular Framework (NCF) gave some degree of legitimacy to sign language education, by hinting that sign languages may qualify as an optional third language choice for hearing students.
NCERT
The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is an autonomous organisation of the Government of India which was established in 1961 as a literary, scientific and charitable Society under the Societies Registration Act. Its hea ...
in March 2006 published a chapter on sign language in a class III textbook, emphasising the fact that it is a language like any other and is "yet another mode of communication." The aim was to create healthy attitudes towards the
disabled
Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, ...
.
Strenuous efforts have been made by
Deaf communities, NGO's, researchers and other organisations working for people with hearing disabilities , including the All India Federation of Deaf (AIFD), National association of the Deaf (NAD) in the direction of encouraging ISL. Until 2001, no formal classes for teaching ISL were conducted in India. During this period, Ali Yavar Jung National Institute of Hearing and the Handicapped (AYJNIHH), Mumbai, established an ISL cell. It started a course called "Diploma in India Sign Language Interpreter Course". The curriculum designed for the course aims to develop professional communication in Sign language and ability to interpret professionally. It also focused on the basic understanding of the
Deaf community
Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written ...
and
Deaf culture. Later, the course was offered in the regional centers, in Hyderabad, Bhuvaneshwar, Kolkata and Delhi.
Besides AYJNIHH, organisations like the Mook Badhir Sangathan in
Indore
Indore () is the largest and most populous city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of both Indore District and Indore Division. It is also considered as an education hub of the state and is the only city to ...
and several other organisations offer ISL classes. Many NGOs all over the India use ISL to teach English and various academic and vocational courses. These NGOs include ISHARA (
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...
), Deaf Way Foundation (
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...
), the Noida Deaf Society and Leadership Education Empowerment of the Deaf (LEED) (
Pune
Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...
), Speaking Hands Institute for the Deaf (
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...
), etc. (Randhawa, 2014). The associations like the Association of Sign Language Interpreters (ASLI) and the Indian Sign Language Interpreters Association (ISLIA) were established in 2006 and 2008 respectively for the professional development of
Interpreters
Interpreting is a translational activity in which one produces a first and final target-language output on the basis of a one-time exposure to an expression in a source language.
The most common two modes of interpreting are simultaneous interp ...
in India. Two schools have been established in India which follow
bilingual approach to teach deaf students. The schools are the
Bajaj Institute of Learning (BIL)
Bajaj may refer to:
People
*Bajaj (surname)
Companies
* Bajaj Group, a group of Indian firms in diverse businesses founded by Jamnalal Bajaj
* Bajaj Auto, a manufacturer of two and three wheelers in India, Indonesia and South America, part of t ...
in Dehradun and
Mook Badhir Sangathan
Mook or Mooks may refer to:
Places
* Mook, Iran (disambiguation)
* Mook, Kentucky, an unincorporated community, United States
* Mook en Middelaar, a municipality in the Netherlands
Entertainment
* Mook (publishing), a portmanteau of magazine a ...
in Indore. Apart from the establishment of organisations working for Deaf people there has been a spurt in research on sign language in India. Recent research developments include the studies by research scholars of the
Jawaharlal Nehru University
Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is a public major research university located in New Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university is known for leading faculties and r ...
(JNU) and the
University of Delhi
Delhi University (DU), formally the University of Delhi, is a collegiate university, collegiate Central university (India), central university located in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly and ...
including Wallang, 2007; Sinha, 2003,2008/2013; Hidam, 2010; Kulsheshtra, 2013. There is also work on problems and awareness of IPSL and typology of IPSL verbs (Morgan 2009,2010). Apart from these there have been continued works by scholars on linguistic aspects of IPSL as well as on varieties of IPSL (Bhattacharya and Hidam 2010, Aboh, Pfau, and Zeshan 2005, Zeshan and Panda 2011, Panda 2011, Panda 2012). Steps taken by the Government of India to promote sign language include the establishment of the
ISLRTC. However, currently the autonomy of the Research centre is a contentious issue, which is yet to be resolved.
Pakistan
Pakistan has a deaf population of 0.24 million, which is approximately 7.4% of the overall disabled population in the country.
Varieties
There are many
varieties
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
of sign language in the region, including many pockets of
home sign
Home sign (or kitchen sign) is a gestural communication system, often invented spontaneously by a deaf child who lacks accessible linguistic input. Home sign systems often arise in families where a deaf child is raised by hearing parents and is iso ...
and local sign languages, such as
Ghandruk Sign Language
Ghandruk Sign Language ( ne, घान्द्रुक सांकेतिक भाषा) is a village sign language of the village of Ghandruk in central Nepal.
See also
*Jumla Sign Language
Jumla Sign Language is a village sign langu ...
,
Jhankot Sign Language, and
Jumla Sign Language
Jumla Sign Language is a village sign language of the town of Jumla in western Nepal. There is a Nepalese Sign Language school in Jumla, and that the students come from a 1–2-day walk away and do not speak Jumla Sign Language.
See also
*Jhan ...
in Nepal, and
Alipur Sign Language
Alipur Sign Language is a village sign language of India. It is spoken in the town of Alipur, Karnataka, a Shia Muslim enclave with a high degree of congenital deafness. There are between 150 and 250 deaf people in Alipur, and there are approxi ...
in India, which appear to be
language isolates. There are also various
Sri Lankan sign languages which may not even be related to each other. However, the urban varieties of India, Pakistan, Nepal (
Nepalese Sign Language), and Bangladesh are clearly related (although, for
Nepalese Sign Language at least, it is not clear whether the relation is genetic, or perhaps rather one of borrowing compounded by extensive incorporation of a shared South Asian gestural base). There is disagreement whether these related varieties should be considered separate languages.
* Woodward (1992a) researched the vocabulary of the sign language varieties in
Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...
(
Sindh, Pakistan),
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...
(NCT, India),
Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...
(
Maharashtra, India),
Bangalore
Bangalore (), List of renamed places in India, officially Bengaluru (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan area, metropolitan population of a ...
(
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
, India) and
Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
(
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...
, India). He found cognacy rates of 62–71% between the Karachi vocabulary on the one hand and the four Indian vocabularies on the other, and concluded that 'sign language varieties in India and Pakistan are distinct but closely related language varieties belonging to the same language family'.
* Woodward (1993) expanded on his 1992 research by comparing the results from India and Pakistan with new data from Nepal, tentatively concluding that the sign language varieties of India, Pakistan, Nepal and probably also Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are so closely related that they may, in fact, constitute a single sign language.
*
Zeshan (2000), based on her own research in Karachi and
New Delhi
New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...
concluding that their grammar was identical and there were only small differences in vocabulary, proposed that the Indian and Pakistani varieties constitute a single language, introduced the term 'Indo-Pakistani Sign Language' and emphatically rejected the notion of separate Indian and Pakistani sign languages.
[
* The ]ISO 639-3
ISO 639-3:2007, ''Codes for the representation of names of languages – Part 3: Alpha-3 code for comprehensive coverage of languages'', is an international standard for language codes in the ISO 639 series. It defines three-letter codes for ...
standard categorises these varieties as three separate sign languages in India and Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Nepal. ''Ethnologue'' (2016), which follows the ISO standard, acknowledges the relatedness of these varieties as well as the controversy over whether they are one language or many. They identify the following dialects within India: Bangalore-Chennai-Hyderabad Sign Language, Mumbai-Delhi Sign Language and Kolkata Sign Language.
* Johnson and Johnson (2016) argue that the varieties used in Kolkata and Bangladesh are distinct from that used in Delhi, and probably also from each other.
While the sign system in IPSL appears to be largely indigenous, elements in IPSL are derived from British Sign Language
British Sign Language (BSL) is a sign language used in the United Kingdom (UK), and is the first or preferred language among the Deaf community in the UK. Based on the percentage of people who reported 'using British Sign Language at home' on ...
. For example, most IPSL signers nowadays use fingerspelling
Fingerspelling (or dactylology) is the representation of the letters of a writing system, and sometimes numeral systems, using only the hands. These manual alphabets (also known as finger alphabets or hand alphabets) have often been used in deaf ...
based on British Sign Language
British Sign Language (BSL) is a sign language used in the United Kingdom (UK), and is the first or preferred language among the Deaf community in the UK. Based on the percentage of people who reported 'using British Sign Language at home' on ...
fingerspelling
Fingerspelling (or dactylology) is the representation of the letters of a writing system, and sometimes numeral systems, using only the hands. These manual alphabets (also known as finger alphabets or hand alphabets) have often been used in deaf ...
, with only isolated groups using an indigenous devanagari
Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental writing system), based on the ...
-based fingerspelling
Fingerspelling (or dactylology) is the representation of the letters of a writing system, and sometimes numeral systems, using only the hands. These manual alphabets (also known as finger alphabets or hand alphabets) have often been used in deaf ...
system (for example, Deaf students and graduates of the school for the deaf in Vadodara
Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capita ...
/Baroda, Gujarat
Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
). In addition, more recently contact with foreign Deaf has resulted in rather extensive borrowing from International Signs and (either directly or via International Signs) from American Sign Language. A small number of the Deaf in and around Bengaluru are often said to use American Sign Language (owing to a longstanding ASL deaf school there); however it is probably more correct to say that they use a lexicon based largely on ASL (or Signed English
Manually-Coded English (MCE) is a type of sign system that follows direct spoken English. The different codes of MCE vary in the levels of directness in following spoken English grammar. There may also be a combination with other visual clues, su ...
), while incorporating also a not inconsequential IPSL element. Furthermore, regardless of the individual signs used, the grammar used is clearly IPSL and not ASL.
The Delhi Association for the Deaf is reportedly working with Jawaharlal Nehru University
Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is a public major research university located in New Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university is known for leading faculties and r ...
to identify a standard sign language for India.
History
Early history
Although discussion of sign languages and the lives of deaf people is extremely rare in the history of South Asian literature, there are a few references to deaf people and gestural communication in texts dating from antiquity. Symbolic hand gestures known as mudras have been employed in religious contexts in Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
, Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...
and Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheisti ...
for many centuries, although Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...
have often excluded deaf people from participation in a ritual or religious membership. In addition, classical Indian dance and theatre
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
often employs stylised hand gestures with particular meanings.
An early reference to gestures used by deaf people for communication appears in a 12th-century Islamic legal commentary, the Hidayah. In the influential text, deaf (or "dumb") people have legal standing in areas such as bequest
A bequest is property given by will. Historically, the term ''bequest'' was used for personal property given by will and ''deviser'' for real property. Today, the two words are used interchangeably.
The word ''bequeath'' is a verb form for the act ...
s, marriage, divorce and financial transactions, if they communicate habitually with intelligible signs.
Early in the 20th century, a high incidence of deafness was observed among communities of the Naga hills. As has happened elsewhere in such circumstances (see, for example, Al-Sayyid Bedouin Sign Language
Al-Sayyid Bedouin Sign Language (ABSL) is a village sign language used by about 150 deaf and many hearing members of the al-Sayyid Bedouin tribe in the Negev desert of southern Israel.
As deafness is so frequent (4% of the population is deaf, ...
), a village sign language A village sign language, or village sign, also known as a shared sign language, is a local indigenous sign language used by both deaf and hearing in an area with a high incidence of congenital deafness. Meir ''et al.'' define a village sign languag ...
had emerged and was used by both deaf and hearing members of the community. Ethnologist and political officer John Henry Hutton
John Henry Hutton FRAI (27 June 1885 – 23 May 1968) was an English-born anthropologist and an administrator in the Indian Civil Service (ICS) during the period of the British Raj. The period that he spent with the ICS in Assam evoked an interes ...
wrote:
(See Naga Sign Language
Naga Hills Sign Language was a village sign language A village sign language, or village sign, also known as a shared sign language, is a local indigenous sign language used by both deaf and hearing in an area with a high incidence of congenital ...
.)
However, it is unlikely that any of these sign systems are related to modern IPSL, and deaf people were largely treated as social outcasts throughout South Asian history.
Residential deaf schools
Documented deaf education began with welfare services, mission schools and orphanage
An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or ab ...
s from the 1830s, and "initially worked with locally-devised gestural or signed communication, sometimes with simultaneous speech." Later in the 19th century, residential deaf schools were established, and they tended (increasingly) to adopt an oralist
Oralism is the education of deaf students through oral language by using lip reading, speech, and mimicking the mouth shapes and breathing patterns of speech.Through Deaf Eyes. Diane Garey, Lawrence R. Hott. DVD, PBS (Direct), 2007. Oralism cam ...
approach over the use of sign language in the classroom. These schools included The Bombay Institution for Deaf-Mutes, which was founded by Bishop Leo Meurin in the 1880s, and schools in Madras and Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
which opened in the 1890s. Other residential schools soon followed, such as the "School for Deaf and Dumb Boys" at Mysore, founded in 1902, a school in Dehiwala
Dehiwala is a suburban area in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It lies within the administrative boundaries of Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Municipal Council. It is known for the zoo which houses thousands of animals and hundreds of species.
2019 Easter Sunday a ...
in what is now Sri Lanka, founded in 1913, and "The Ida Rieu School for blind, deaf, dumb and other defective children", founded in 1923 in Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...
, in what is now Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
.
While a few students who were unable to learn via the oralist method were taught with signs, many students preferred to communicate with each other via sign language, sometimes to the frustration of their teachers. The first study of the sign language of these children, which is almost certainly related to modern IPSL, was in 1928 by British teacher H. C. Banerjee. She visited three residential schools for deaf children, at Dacca
Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...
, Barisal
Barisal ( or ; bn, বরিশাল, ), officially known as Barishal, is a major city that lies on the banks of the Kirtankhola river in south-central Bangladesh. It is the largest city and the administrative headquarter of both Barisal Di ...
and Calcutta, observing that "in all these schools the teachers have discouraged the growth of the sign language, which in spite of this official disapproval, has grown and flourished." She compared sign vocabularies at the different schools and described the signs in words in an appendix.
A rare case of a public event conducted in sign language was reported by a mission in Palayamkottai
Palayamkottai (also Palayankottai) is a neighbourhood in Tirunelveli City, incorporated within the Tirunelveli City Municipal Corporation. It is situated on the east bank of the Thamirabarani river, with the exception of its downtown area, wh ...
in 1906: "Our services for the Deaf are chiefly in the sign language, in which all can join alike, whether learning Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
, as those do who belong to the Madras Presidency, or English, which is taught to those coming from other parts."
Grammar
Despite the common assumption that Indo-Pakistani Sign Language is the manual representation of spoken English or Hindi, it is in fact unrelated to either language and has its own grammar. Zeshan (2014) discusses three aspects of IPSL: its lexicon, syntax and spatial grammar. Some distinct features of IPSL that differ from other sign languages include:
1) Number Signs: The numbers from zero to nine are formed in IPSL by holding up a hand with the appropriate handshape for each number. From one to five the corresponding number of extended fingers forms the numeral sign, whereas for zero and the numbers from six to nine special handshapes are used that derive from written numbers. Ten may either be expressed by two 5-hands or by ‘1+0’. (Zeshan, 2000)
2) Family Relationship: The signs for family relationship are preceded by the sign for ‘male/man’ and ‘female/woman’.
3) Sign families: Several signs belong to same family if they share one or more parameters including handshapes, place of articulation and movement.
E.g.:
i)PASS and FAIL – The handshape for the sign is same but they move in opposite direction.
ii)MONEY, PAY and RICH – They have same handshape but different place of articulation and movement pattern.
iii)THINK, KNOW and UNDERSTAND – The place of articulation is head which is same for all signs.
4) The IPSL consists of various non-manual gestures including mouth pattern, mouth gesture, facial expression, body posture, head position and eye gaze (Zeshan, 2001)
5) There is no temporal inflection in IPSL. The past, present and future is depicted by using signs for before, then, and after.
6) The question words like WHAT, WHERE, WHICH, HOW etc. are placed at the end of interrogative sentences.
7) The use of space is a crucial feature of IPSL.
Popular culture
Indo-Pakistani Sign Language has appeared in numerous Indian films such as:
* Koshish
''Koshish'' () is a 1972 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama movie starring Sanjeev Kumar and Jaya Bhaduri, written and directed by Gulzar. The movie depicts a deaf and mute couple and their conflicts, pain and struggle to carve out a niche for ...
, 1972 film about a deaf couple.
* Mozhi, 2007 film about the love story of a deaf and mute girl.
* Khamoshi: The Musical, a 1996 film about a deaf couple with a daughter who becomes a musician.
* Black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...
, a 2005 film about a blind and deaf girl based in part on the life of Helen Keller.
Computational Resources
There has been some significant amount of research on Sign language recognition, but with very less focus for Indo sign language. Due to the political divide, Indian and Pakistani sign languages are generally perceived different, hence leading to fragmented research. There have been a few initiatives that gather open resources for Indian and Pakistani SLs.
References
Further reading
* Deshmukh, D (1997), "Sign Language and Bilingualism in Deaf Education".
Ichalkaranj, India: Deaf Foundation.
* Sulman, Nasir & Zuberi, Sadaf (2002) "Pakistan Sign Language – A synopsis".
Sinha, Samar (2005), A Skeletal Grammar of Indian Sign Language, MPhil dissertation. JNU, New Delhi.
Sinha, Samar (2008), A Grammar of Indian Sign Language, PhD thesis, JNU, New Delhi
*
External links
Higher Secondary School & Multi Purpose Training Institute for Deaf
(Indore
Indore () is the largest and most populous city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of both Indore District and Indore Division. It is also considered as an education hub of the state and is the only city to ...
, Madhya Pradesh) – a residential school run by a deaf couple and using Indo-Pakistani Sign Language in the classroom.
Pakistan Sign Language – A Synopsis
The people behind India's first sign language dictionary
BBC
{{Authority control
Sign language isolates
Languages of India
Languages of Pakistan
Languages of Bangladesh