Taiwan Sign Language (TSL; ) is the
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 elements, no ...
most commonly used by the deaf and
hard of hearing in Taiwan.
History
The beginnings of Taiwan Sign Language date from 1895.
The origins of TSL developed from
Japanese Sign Language during
Japanese rule. TSL is considered part of the
Japanese Sign Language family.
TSL has some
mutual intelligibility
In linguistics, mutual intelligibility is a relationship between different but related language varieties in which speakers of the different varieties can readily understand each other without prior familiarity or special effort. Mutual intelli ...
with both Japanese Sign Language and
Korean Sign Language; it has about a 60% lexical similarity with JSL.
There are two main dialects of TSL centered on two of the three major sign language schools in Taiwan: one in
Taipei
, nickname = The City of Azaleas
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, the other in
Tainan City. There is a variant based in
Taichung
Taichung (, Wade–Giles: '), officially Taichung City, is a special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality in central Taiwan. Taichung is Taiwan's second-largest city, with more than 2.85 million residents, making it the largest city in Ce ...
, but this sign language is essentially the same as the Tainan school.
After
the ROC took over Taiwan, Taiwan absorbed an influx of
Chinese Sign Language
Chinese Sign Language (abbreviated CSL or ZGS; ) is the main sign language used in China. It is not related to the Taiwanese Sign Language used in Taiwan. Manually coded Mandarin is referred to as ''Wénfǎ Shǒuyǔ'' ().
History
The first ...
users from
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
who influenced TSL through
teaching methods and
loanwords
A loanword (also a loan word, loan-word) is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language (the recipient or target language), through the process of borrowing. Borrowing is a metaphorical term t ...
.
Serious linguistic research into TSL began in the 1970s and is continuing at present. The first International
Symposium
In Ancient Greece, the symposium (, ''sympósion'', from συμπίνειν, ''sympínein'', 'to drink together') was the part of a banquet that took place after the meal, when drinking for pleasure was accompanied by music, dancing, recitals, o ...
on Taiwan Sign Language
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...
was held on March 1–2, 2003, at
National Chung Cheng University in
Minxiong
Minxiong Township () or Minsyong Township is a Township (Taiwan), rural township in Chiayi County, Taiwan.
Geography
The population of Minxiong Township is 70,316 (as of May 2022). It is the most populous district of Chiayi County. Minxiong To ...
,
Chiayi
Chiayi (,), officially known as Chiayi City, is a Provincial city (Taiwan), city located in Chianan Plain in Regions of Taiwan, southwestern Taiwan, surrounded by Chiayi County with a population of 263,188 inhabitants as of January 2023.
The H ...
, Taiwan.
Functional markers
TSL, like other sign languages, incorporates
nonmanual 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.
In popular culture
The 2020 psychological-thriller
The Silent Forest uses a large amount of the Taipei variant of TSL in the dialogue.
References
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Further reading
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External links
TSL Online Dictionary(in English and Traditional Chinese)
Sign Language Dictionary from Ministry of Education Republic of China (Taiwan)in traditional Chinese)
Japanese Sign Language family
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 elements, no ...
Disability in Taiwan
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