| Description:
Irish Sign Language (ISL, Irish: Teanga Chomharthaíochta na hÉireann) is the sign language of Ireland, used primarily in the Republic of Ireland. It is also used in Northern Ireland, though British Sign Language (BSL) is used more often. Irish Sign Language is more closely related to French Sign Language than to British Sign Language, which was first used in Dublin. It has influenced sign languages in Australia and South Africa, and has little relation to either spoken Irish or English.
The Irish Deaf Society says that ISL "arose from within deaf communities", "was developed by deaf people themselves" and "has been in existence for hundreds of years", but according to Ethnologue the language originated in the period of 1846-1849. The ISO 639-3 code for Irish Sign Language is 'isg'; 'isl' is the code for Icelandic...... full article at Wikipedia |
