Jump to content

Egyptian Sign Language

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Egyptian Sign Language
RegionEgypt
Signers500,000 (2021)[1]
Arab Sign Language family
  • Egyptian Sign Language
Language codes
ISO 639-3esl
Glottologegyp1238

Egyptian Sign Language (Arabic: لغة الإشارة المصرية, romanizedlugha al-ʿišāra al-Miṣriyyati) is a sign language used by members of the deaf community in Egypt.

Sign language

[edit]

Although there are no official statistics on the number of deaf people or the number of people who use Egyptian Sign Language as their primary language,[2] Gallaudet University's library resources website quotes a 1999 estimate of 2 million hearing impaired children,[3] while a 2007 study by the World Health Organization places the prevalence of hearing loss in Egypt at 16.02% across all age groups.[4] Egyptian Sign Language is not formally recognized by the government.[2]

Linguistically, Egyptian Sign Language is not related to other sign languages of the Arab World, such as Jordanian Sign Language, Palestinian Sign Language, or Libyan Sign Language.[5] Attempts at unification, creating an "Arabic Sign Language", have failed, as the unified form would be an entirely new language.[2]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Egyptian Sign Language at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022) Closed access icon
  2. ^ a b c World Federation of the Deaf; Swedish National Association of the Deaf (2008). Global Survey Report WFD Interim Regional Secretariat for the Arab Region (WFD RSAR) (PDF) (Report). ISBN 978-952-9648-12-2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-16. Retrieved 2012-05-01.
  3. ^ "LibGuides: Deaf Statistics: Africa & the Americas". Gallaudet University Library. Archived from the original on 2017-06-13. Retrieved 2012-05-01.
  4. ^ Abdel-Hamid, O.; Khatib, O. M. N.; Aly, A.; Morad, M.; Kamel, S. (2007). "Prevalence and Patterns of Hearing Impairment in Egypt: A National Household Survey". Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal. 13 (5): 1170–1180. doi:10.26719/2007.13.5.1170. PMID 18290411. Archived from the original on 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2012-05-01.
  5. ^ Abdel-Fattah, M. A. (2005). "Arabic Sign Language: A Perspective". The Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education. 10 (2): 212–221. doi:10.1093/deafed/eni007. PMID 15778217.
[edit]
  • Egyptian Sign Puddle – Dictionary of Egyptian Sign Language (under construction)
  • YouTube ESL Dictionary – Animated Dictionary of Egyptian Sign Language (under construction)
  • The Deaf Unit – Private School in Cairo, associated with The Nardine Association NGO – جمعية الناردين