Indian Sign Language Dictionary in India

Author: Press Trust of India
Published: 2017/03/22 - Updated: 2020/08/12

Contents: Synopsis - Introduction - Main - Related Publications

Synopsis: Government of India dictionary aims to bring together various sign languages used by people with speech and hearing impairments.

Presently, the sign languages in a diverse country like India vary from region to region. Because of this, people from a region face difficulty in communicating with those in another region.

Introduction

The government is all set to come up with the country's first-of-its-kind dictionary that aims to bring together various sign languages used by people with speech and hearing impairments.

Main Content

The Indian Sign Language (ISL) dictionary, which is being developed by the Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre (ISLRTC), has so far compiled 6,032 Hindi and English words and corresponding graphic representations of signs.

The dictionary is being developed in both print and video formats.

Comprehensive Base

"A comprehensive Indian Sign Language Dictionary is the need of the hour to facilitate communication between the hearing and speech impaired and create a database for further policy making," Union Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thaawarchand Gehlot said on Monday.

"Presently, the sign languages in a diverse country like India vary from region to region. Because of this, people from a region face difficulty in communicating with those in another region," he said at the inauguration of a two-day national conference on empowering people with hearing difficulties.

Varieties

There are many varieties of sign language in the region, including many pockets of home sign and local sign languages, such as Ghandruk Sign Language, Jhankot Sign Language, and Jumla Sign Language in Nepal, and Alipur Sign Language in India, which appear to be language isolates

Awanish K Awasthi, Joint Secretary, Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, said that 50 lakh hearing-impaired people and 20 lakh speech-impaired people in the country will get a uniform language from the dictionary.

"It will contain graphic representations of popular signs used by the hearing impaired and will also include regional variations. Apart from that, it will have legal, technical and medical terms," Mr. Awasthi said.

Quick Facts

Indo-Pakistani Sign Language (IPSL) is the predominant sign language in South Asia, used by at least several hundred thousand deaf signers.

As with many sign languages, it is difficult to estimate numbers with any certainty, as the Census of India does not list sign languages and most studies have focused on the north and on urban areas.

Attribution/Source(s): This quality-reviewed publication was selected for publishing by the editors of Disabled World (DW) due to its relevance to the disability community. Originally authored by Press Trust of India and published on 2017/03/22, this content may have been edited for style, clarity, or brevity.