| Ban Khor Sign Language | |
|---|---|
| ภาษามือบ้านค้อ | |
| Native to | Thailand |
Native speakers | 400 (2009)[1] |
sign language
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | bfk |
| Glottolog | bank1251 |
| ELP | Ban Khor Sign Language |
Ban Khor Sign Language (BKSL;Thai:ภาษามือบ้านค้อ) is avillage sign language used by at least 400 people of a rice-farming community in the village ofBan Khor in a remote area ofIsan (northeasternThailand).[2][3][4] Known locally aspasa kidd ('language of the mute'), it developed in the 1930s due to a high number ofdeaf people. Estimated number of users in 2009 was 16 deaf and approximately 400 hearing out of 2741 villagers.[3] It is alanguage isolate, independent of the other sign languages of Thailand such asOld Bangkok Sign Language and the nationalThai Sign Language.[4]
Thai Sign Language is increasingly exerting an influence on BKSL. Younger Deaf attend distant residential Deaf schools where they learn Thai Sign Language. Even middle-aged hearing people are using Thai SL vocabulary mixed with BKSL. Attitudes favoring Thai SL over BKSL are beginning to be expressed.[4]
Other village sign languages have been reported from the Ban Khor area, in the villages ofPlaa Pag,Huay Hai andNa Sai. They have not been documented, so it is not known if they are dialects of BKSL or if they are distinct languages.[5][2]
