Many countries in Africa use forms of either American or French Sign Language
American Sign Language Information
American Sign Language (ASL) is the main sign language used within the United States of America. Some countries in Africa that use forms of ASL are Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Mali.
Information about ASL and dictionaries can be found at:
- aslpro.com
- signingonline.com
- www.aslbrowser.com
- lifeprint.com
Information about ASL and dictionaries can be found at:
- aslpro.com
- signingonline.com
- www.aslbrowser.com
- lifeprint.com
French Sign Language Information
http://certis.enpc.fr/ ~keriven/research/ publications-by-domain.html
French Sign Language (Langue des Signes Francaise) is also used in African countries such as Chad, Congo, Mali, and Rwanda. National sign languages also include fingerspelling and word signs which are of French origin.
Information about LSF and dictionaries can be found at:
- http://www2.univ-paris8.fr/ingenierie-cognition/master- handi/etudiant/projets/site_lsf/accueil/accueil.php
- www.languedessignes.fr
- www.sematos.eu/lsf.html
- www.lsfplus.fr
Information about LSF and dictionaries can be found at:
- http://www2.univ-paris8.fr/ingenierie-cognition/master- handi/etudiant/projets/site_lsf/accueil/accueil.php
- www.languedessignes.fr
- www.sematos.eu/lsf.html
- www.lsfplus.fr
The following information indicates which family of sign language the national sign languages are based on:
Adamorobe Sign Language: Family - isolate
Notes - (ADS) (Ghana)
Algerian Sign Language: Family - French
Bamako Sign Language: Family - isolate
(Malian Sign Language) in a school in Mali
Bura Sign Language: Family - isolate
Notes - in Nigeria (PDF link)
Burkina Sign Language: Family - isolate
Notes - Ouagadougou
Chadian Sign Language: Family - French:ASL:Nigerian?
Congolesian Sign Language: Family - French
Egyptian Sign Language: Family - isolate
Ethiopian sign languages
Notes - 1 million signers of an unknown number of languages
Franco-American Sign Language: Family - French × ASL
a pidgin observed in Cameroon and elsewhere in West and Central Africa.
Gambian Sign Language: Family - French:ASL
Ghanaian Sign Language: Family - French:ASL
Guinean Sign Language: Family - French:ASL
Guinea-Bissau Sign Language: Family - isolate
Hausa Sign Language: Family - isolate
Notes - "Maganar Hannu" (HSL) — Northern Nigeria (Kano State)
Kenyan Sign Language: Family - ALS and isolate
Notes - Also called (Kenyan Sign Language - KSL or LAK)
Libyan Sign Language: Family - unknown
Malagasy Sign Language: Family - French:Danish:Norwegian
Notes: (or "Madagascan Sign Language") May be a dialect of Norwegian SL
Moroccan Sign Language: Family - French:ASL
Mozambican Sign Language: Family - unknown
Mbour Sign Language: Family - isolate
Mbour, Senegal: Family - unknown
Namibian Sign Language: Family - unknown
Nanabin Sign Language: Family - isolate
Notes - a deaf family in Nanabin, Ghana
Nigerian Sign Language: Family - French:ASL
Sierra Leone Sign Language: Family - French:ASL
Somali Sign Language: Family - unknown
South African Sign Language: British
Notes - also called (SASL)
Tanzanian sign languages: Family -several isolates
Notes - (seven independent languages, one for each deaf school in Tanzania, with little mutual influence)
Tebul Sign Language
Notes - (Tebul Ure SL) Mopti, Mali (village of Tebul Ure)
Tunisian Sign Language: Family - French:Italian
Ugandan Sign Language: Family - ASL
Notes - (USL)
Zambian Sign Language: Family - unknown
Notes - (ZASL)
Zimbabwean Sign Language: Family - unknown
Disclaimer: This information is the only information found relating to the different sign languages in Africa. Readers should be aware that it could be incorrect due to the difficulty of obtaining information about sign languages in Africa, as well as the website where it was found.
Information from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sign_languages
