Urubú Sign Language
Encyclopedia
Urubú Sign Language is a sign language
used by the small community of Ka'apor
people in the state of Maranhão
. Linguist Jim Kakumasu observed in 1968 that the number of deaf people in the community was 7 out of a population of 500. This relatively high ratio of deafness (1 in 75) has led to both hearing and deaf members of the community using the language, and most hearing children grow up bilingual in the spoken and signed languages. Other Indian tribes in the region have also been reported to use sign languages.
Notable features of Urubú Sign Language are its object–subject–verb word order
, and its locating of the past in front of the signer and the future behind, like Japanese Sign Language
and in contrast to sign languages of European origin, including American Sign Language
, Auslan
and New Zealand Sign Language
. Kyle and Woll (1985) speculate that this is represents a world view
of the past as something visible, and the future as unknowable.
Kakumasu noted several features which sign language linguists today recognise as common to other sign languages, such as the use of name signs. Conditional and imperative grammatical mood
s are marked by non-manual features such as a widening of the eyes and tensing of facial muscles. Questions are marked with a question sign either before or after the clause, described as "a motion of the index finger towards the referent (addressee) with a slight wrist twist."
Sign language
A sign language is a language which, instead of acoustically conveyed sound patterns, uses visually transmitted sign patterns to convey meaning—simultaneously combining hand shapes, orientation and movement of the hands, arms or body, and facial expressions to fluidly express a speaker's...
used by the small community of Ka'apor
Ka'apor
The Ka'apor are a distinct ethnic group of indigenous Brazilians living on a protected reserve in the state of Maranhão. They were the subject of a book by anthropologist Dr...
people in the state of Maranhão
Maranhão
Maranhão is a northeastern state of Brazil. To the north lies the Atlantic Ocean. Maranhão is neighbored by the states of Piauí, Tocantins and Pará. The people of Maranhão have a distinctive accent...
. Linguist Jim Kakumasu observed in 1968 that the number of deaf people in the community was 7 out of a population of 500. This relatively high ratio of deafness (1 in 75) has led to both hearing and deaf members of the community using the language, and most hearing children grow up bilingual in the spoken and signed languages. Other Indian tribes in the region have also been reported to use sign languages.
Notable features of Urubú Sign Language are its object–subject–verb word order
Word order
In linguistics, word order typology refers to the study of the order of the syntactic constituents of a language, and how different languages can employ different orders. Correlations between orders found in different syntactic subdomains are also of interest...
, and its locating of the past in front of the signer and the future behind, like Japanese Sign Language
Japanese Sign Language
, also known by the acronym "JSL", is the dominant sign language in Japan.-History:Little is known about sign language and the deaf community before the Edo period. In 1862, the Tokugawa shogunate dispatched envoys to various European schools for the deaf...
and in contrast to sign languages of European origin, including American Sign Language
American Sign Language
American Sign Language, or ASL, for a time also called Ameslan, is the dominant sign language of Deaf Americans, including deaf communities in the United States, in the English-speaking parts of Canada, and in some regions of Mexico...
, Auslan
Auslan
Auslan is the sign language of the Australian deaf community. The term Auslan is an acronym of "Australian sign language", coined by Trevor Johnston in the early 1980s, although the language itself is much older...
and New Zealand Sign Language
New Zealand Sign Language
New Zealand Sign Language or NZSL is the main language of the Deaf community in New Zealand. It became an official language of New Zealand in April 2006, alongside Te Reo Māori....
. Kyle and Woll (1985) speculate that this is represents a world view
World view
A comprehensive world view is the fundamental cognitive orientation of an individual or society encompassing the entirety of the individual or society's knowledge and point-of-view, including natural philosophy; fundamental, existential, and normative postulates; or themes, values, emotions, and...
of the past as something visible, and the future as unknowable.
Kakumasu noted several features which sign language linguists today recognise as common to other sign languages, such as the use of name signs. Conditional and imperative grammatical mood
Grammatical mood
In linguistics, grammatical mood is a grammatical feature of verbs, used to signal modality. That is, it is the use of verbal inflections that allow speakers to express their attitude toward what they are saying...
s are marked by non-manual features such as a widening of the eyes and tensing of facial muscles. Questions are marked with a question sign either before or after the clause, described as "a motion of the index finger towards the referent (addressee) with a slight wrist twist."
See also
- Al-Sayyid Bedouin Sign LanguageAl-Sayyid Bedouin Sign LanguageThe Al-Sayyid Bedouin Sign Language is a sign language used by about 150 deaf and many hearing members of the al-Sayyid Bedouin tribe in the Negev desert of southern Israel...
- Providence Island Sign LanguageProvidence Island Sign LanguageProvidence Island Sign Language is the sign language used by the deaf community on the small island community of Providence Island in the Western Caribbean, off the coast of Nicaragua but belonging to Colombia...
- Martha's Vineyard Sign LanguageMartha's Vineyard Sign LanguageMartha's Vineyard Sign Language is a sign language once widely used on the island of Martha's Vineyard off the coast of Massachusetts, U.S., from the early 18th century to the year 1952. It was remarkable for its use by both deaf and hearing people in the community; consequently, deafness did not...
- Adamorobe Sign LanguageAdamorobe Sign LanguageAdamorobe Sign Language is an indigenous sign language used in Adamorobe, an Akan village in eastern Ghana. It is used by about 30 deaf and 1370 hearing people.”...