Varieties of American Sign Language

Dialects and descendants of American Sign Language Varieties and descendants of ASL are used throughout the Caribbean, West and Central Africa, and Southeast AsiaMap of North American Francosign languages, including varieties of ASL covered by the dashed line American Sign Language (ASL) developed in the United States, starting as a blend of local sign languages and French Sign Language (FSL). Local varieties have developed in many countries, but there is little research on which should be considered dialects of ASL (such as Bolivian Sign Language) and which have diverged to the point of being distinct languages (such as Malaysian Sign Language). The following are sign language varieties of ASL in countries other than the US and Canada, languages based on ASL with substratum influence from local sign languages, and mixed languages in which ASL is a component. Distinction follow political boundaries, which may not correspond to linguistic boundaries. Bolivian Sign Language Bolivian Sign Language (Lengua de Señas Bolivianas, LSB) is a dialect of American Sign Language (ASL) used predominantly by the Deaf in Bolivia. History In 1973, American Sign Language was brought to Bolivia by E