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| Levantine Sign Language | |
|---|---|
| Syro-Palestinian Sign Language | |
| لغة الإشارة العربية الشرقية | |
| Region | Levant/Bilad al-Sham |
Native speakers | 30,000 (2021)[1] |
Arab sign-language family
| |
| Dialects |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | jos (Jordanian Sign Language) |
| Glottolog | jord1238 Levantine Arabic SL |
Levantine Arabic Sign Language is thesign language used by people of the area known asBilad al-Sham or theLevant, comprisingJordan,Palestine,Syria, andLebanon. Although there are significant differences in vocabulary between the four states, this is not much greater than regional differences within the states. Grammar is quite uniform and mutual intelligibility is high, indicating that they are dialects of a single language.[2]
The language typically goes by the name of the country, as so:
Jordanian Sign Language (LIU) has multiple dialects, and no standard form.[3] A dictionary of 500 LIU signs was published in 2006.[3]
The first school for the deaf in Palestine opened in 1972 inBethlehem, but sign language was not taught until the 1990s, with the opening of new schools for the deaf and the publication of a Palestinian Sign Language (LIF) dictionary by theRamallah-basedBenevolent Society for the Deaf. As of 2021, all schools for the deaf in Palestine taught at least some LIF, but the official educational LIF dictionary only contains signs up through the seventh grade syllabus.[4]
Deaf clubs were founded in Palestine beginning in 1991 in Ramallah, and five clubs existed in the country as of 2021. These clubs serve as informal gathering spaces and educational spaces.[4]
The first university classes in LIF were offered byBirzeit University in 2014. Formal education in LIF interpretation was not offered in Palestine until 2019.[4]
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