| Colombian Sign Language | |
|---|---|
| Lengua de Señas Colombiana | |
| Native to | Colombia |
Native speakers | 151,000 (2021)[1] |
Andean? | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | csn |
| Glottolog | colo1249 |
| ELP | Colombian Sign Language |
Colombian Sign Language (Spanish:Lengua de Señas Colombiana, LSC,Spanish pronunciation:[ˈleŋɡwaðeˈseɲaskolomˈbjana]) is thedeaf sign language ofColombia.
Clark[2] notes thatPeruvian,Bolivian,Ecuadorian and Colombian sign languages "have significant lexical similarities to each other" and "contain a certain degree of lexical influence from ASL" as well, at least going by the forms in national dictionaries.Chilean andArgentine share these traits, though to a lesser extent.
The development of the signs have influences of Spanish sign language andAmerican Sign Language.[citation needed] It is reported to have signs in common withSalvadoran Sign Language.[3]
There are two sign language schools inBogotá (the first started in 1929), two inMedellín and one inCali. Countrywide, three different institutions of support for deaf promotes the learning of the language. The national Committee for the sign language promotes the research in the area, distributes the manual alphabet for spelling and the Grammar Dictionary and supports the organization for sign language teachers. The now defunct national central oftelecommunications TELECOM distributed a CD-ROM software for self-learning.
There is a growing interest for learning the sign language between the hearing people. Some schools use sign language in the classroom. Interpreters are provided at important public events, and for college students.
