Taiwanese Sign Language
Encyclopedia
Taiwanese Sign Language or TSL is the deaf sign language most commonly used in Taiwan
.
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 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 around two of the three major sign language schools in Taiwan: one in Taipei
, the other in Tainan City (the Taichung
school used a sign language essentially the same as the Tainan school).
After the retrocession of Taiwan to the ROC, Taiwan absorbed an influx of Chinese Sign Language
users from mainland China
who influenced TSL through teaching methods
and loanwords.
Serious linguistic research on TSL began in the 1970s and is continuing at present. The first International Symposium
on Taiwan Sign Language Linguistics
was held on March 1–2, 2003, at National Chung Cheng University
in Minxiong
, Chiayi
, Taiwan.
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
.
History
The beginnings of Taiwan Sign Language date from 1895.The origins of TSL developed from Japanese Sign Language
Japanese Sign Language
, also known by the acronym "JSL", is the dominant sign language in Japan.-History:Little is known about sign language and the deaf community before the Edo period. In 1862, the Tokugawa shogunate dispatched envoys to various European schools for the deaf...
during Japanese rule
Taiwan under Japanese rule
Between 1895 and 1945, Taiwan was a dependency of the Empire of Japan. The expansion into Taiwan was a part of Imperial Japan's general policy of southward expansion during the late 19th century....
. TSL is considered part of the Japanese Sign Language family
Japanese Sign Language family
The Japanese Sign Language family is a language family of three sign languages, Japanese Sign Language , Korean Sign Language , and Taiwanese Sign Language .There is little difficulty in communication between the three languages....
.
TSL has some mutual intelligibility with both Japanese Sign Language and Korean Sign Language
Korean Sign Language
Korean Sign Language or KSL is the deaf sign language of Korea.The beginnings of KSL date from 1889.The first primary school for deaf children, opened in 1908, used KSL....
; it has about a 60% lexical similarity with JSL.
There are two main dialects of TSL centered around two of the three major sign language schools in Taiwan: one in Taipei
Taipei
Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...
, the other in Tainan City (the Taichung
Taichung
-Demographics:Taichung’s population was an estimated 1,040,725 in August 2006. There are slightly more females in the city than males.24.32% of residents are children, while 16.63% are young people, 52.68% are middle-age, and 6.73% are elderly....
school used a sign language essentially the same as the Tainan school).
After the retrocession of Taiwan to the ROC, Taiwan absorbed an influx of Chinese Sign Language
Chinese Sign Language
Modern Chinese Sign Language is the deaf sign language of the People's Republic of China. It is unrelated to Taiwanese Sign Language....
users from mainland China
Mainland China
Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...
who influenced TSL through teaching methods
Deaf education
Deaf education is the academic discipline concerned the education of students with various hearing capabilities in a way that addresses the students' individual differences and needs.Deaf education also includes the study of:* Special education...
and loanwords.
Serious linguistic research on TSL began in the 1970s and is continuing at present. The first International Symposium
Symposium
In ancient Greece, the symposium was a drinking party. Literary works that describe or take place at a symposium include two Socratic dialogues, Plato's Symposium and Xenophon's Symposium, as well as a number of Greek poems such as the elegies of Theognis of Megara...
on Taiwan Sign Language Linguistics
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
was held on March 1–2, 2003, at National Chung Cheng University
National Chung Cheng University
National Chung Cheng University , abbreviated CCU, is a public research university located in Minhsiung, Chiayi County, Taiwan. It is distinctive among universities in Taiwan in that it is dedicated to the core humanities and the basic sciences, both natural and social...
in Minxiong
Minxiong, Chiayi
Minxiong is a rural township in Chiayi County, Taiwan. It has a population total of 72,652 and an area of 85.4969 square kilometres.National Chung Cheng University is located here, as is the Minxiong campus of National Chiayi University....
, Chiayi
Chiayi County
Chiayi County is a county in southwestern Taiwan surrounding but not including Chiayi City. Its historical name in Taiwanese Hokkien derives from Tsirosen in the Formosan languages...
, Taiwan.
Functional markers
TSL, like other sign languages, incorporates non-manual 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.Further reading
- Sasaki, Daisuke. (2007). "Comparing the lexicons of Japanese Sign Language and Taiwan Sign Language: a preliminary study focusing on the difference in the handshape parameter," Sign Language in Contact: Sociolinguistics in Deaf Communities (David Quinto-Pozos, editor). Washington, D.C.: Gallaudet University Press. 10-ISBN 1563683563/13-ISBN 9781563683565; OCLC 154789790
External links
- Associations
- National Association of the Deaf in the Republic of China(in traditional Chinese)
- Chinese Deaf Association, R.O.C.
- Schools
- Dictionaries
- TSL Online Dictionary (in English and Traditional Chinese)