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German Sign Language family

Eurasian Language Families

The German Sign Language family is a language family of sign languages including German Sign Language, Polish Sign Language and probably Israeli Sign Language. A 1979 study by Judy Anderson proposed a broader Northwest European origin potentially connecting the German, Swedish and British sign language families, though each remains classified as a separate family under current classification.

Facts
Partially Attested
Speaker Count
80,000 2
No family-wide aggregate is published. German Sign Language, the family's founding and largest member, has contemporary estimates ranging up to 80,000 signers per the cited source, though a 1986 Gallaudet University estimate put primary users at approximately 50,000. Polish Sign Language and Israeli Sign Language speaker counts are not included.
Region
Europe (Germany, Poland and, probably, Israel). 1
Proto-Language Status
No proto-language has been reconstructed for the family as a genetic unit. Anderson (1979) proposed that the German, Swedish and British Sign Language families instead share one common, unreconstructed North-West European ancestral sign language. 1
In the Other Atlases
  • Also in Geography Atlas: Asia, found in there.
  • Also in Geography Atlas: Europe, found in there.
Sources
1. Wikipedia: German Sign Language Family
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Infobox language family, region field
    Europe
  • Lead section, paragraph 2
    Anderson (1979) suggested that Swedish Sign, German Sign and British Sign share one origin in a "North-West European" sign language.
View the Source
2. Wikipedia: German Sign Language
Wikimedia FoundationLead section, final sentence
Quote, Lead section, final sentence
Estimates regarding the precise number of active DGS signers vary considerably; Gallaudet University estimated approximately 50,000 primary users as of 1986, while broader contemporary estimates range up to 80,000.
View the Source
Wikidata: German Sign Language family
Wikidata Q5551235, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source
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