Bay Islands Sign Language
| Bay Islands Sign Language | |
|---|---|
| French Harbour Sign Language | |
| Native to | Honduras |
| Region | Bay Islands |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | None (mis) |
| Glottolog | fren1280 |
Bay Islands Sign Language (BISL), also known as French Harbour Sign Language,[1] is an indigenous village sign language of Honduras.[2]
Geographic distribution
[edit]The language has been used for at least three generations, in the towns of French Harbour and Jonesville, on the island of Roatán. It is also used on Guanaja.[2]
Signers
[edit]There is a high incidence of Usher syndrome in French Harbour, which causes deafness, and blindness later in life. The language is used by deaf, hearing, and deafblind people, and there is evidence of intergenerational transmission. The language seems to have primarily been used by white islanders.[2]
Linguistics
[edit]BISL has both visual and tactile modes. The addressee's face and body are often touched during conversation. In conversation with sighted individuals, signing can be purely visual.[2]
References
[edit]- ↑ "Languages". Glottolog. Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 Le Guen, Olivier; Safar, Josefina; Coppola, Marie (23 November 2020). "Bay Islands Sign Language: A sociolinguistic sketch". Emerging Sign Languages of the Americas. Walter de Gruyter. pp. 435–437. ISBN 1501504886. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
External links
[edit]- Ben Braithwaite, Documenting language across modalities: visual and tactile sign language in the Bay Islands. Data deposit.
 | This article about a sign language or related topic is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information. |