| Taiwan Sign Language | |
|---|---|
| 台灣手語 | |
| Native to | Taiwan |
Native speakers | 20,000 (2004)[1] |
Japanese Sign
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | tss |
| Glottolog | taiw1241 |
Taiwan Sign Language (TSL;Chinese:台灣手語;pinyin:Táiwān Shǒuyǔ) is thesign language most commonly used bythe deaf and hard of hearing in Taiwan.
There are two main dialects of TSL centered on two of the three major sign language schools in Taiwan: one inTaipei, the other inTainan City. There is a variant based inTaichung, but this sign language is essentially the same as the Tainan school.
The beginnings of Taiwan Sign Language date from 1895.[2] TSL developed fromJapanese Sign Language duringJapanese rule. TSL is considered part of theJapanese Sign Language family.[3] It is partlymutually intelligible with both Japanese Sign Language andKorean Sign Language; it has about a 60% lexical similarity with JSL.[2]
Afterthe ROC took control over Taiwan, Taiwan absorbed an influx ofChinese Sign Language users from China who influenced TSL throughteaching methods andloanwords.[2]
Serious linguistic research into TSL began in the 1970s and continues. The first InternationalSymposium on Taiwan Sign LanguageLinguistics was held on March 1–2, 2003, atNational Chung Cheng University inMinxiong,Chiayi County, Taiwan.
TSL, like other sign languages, incorporatesnonmanual 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.[4]
The 2020 psychological thrillerThe Silent Forest uses a large amount of the Taipei variant of TSL in the dialogue.[5]
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