The most commonly used sign language within Israel's deaf community
Israeli Sign Language
, also known as
Shassi
[2]
or
ISL
, is the most commonly used
sign language
by the
Deaf
community
of
Israel
. Some other sign languages are also used in Israel, among them
Al-Sayyid Bedouin Sign Language
.
History
[
edit
]
The history of ISL goes back to 1873 in
Germany
, where
Marcus Reich
, a
German Jew
, opened a special school for Jewish deaf children. At the time, it was considered one of the best of its kind, which made it popular with Jewish deaf children from all over the world as well as non-Jews. In 1932, several teachers from this school opened the first school for Jewish deaf children in
Jerusalem
. The sign language used in the Jerusalemite school was influenced by the
German Sign Language
(DGS), but other sign languages or signing systems brought by immigrants also contributed to the emerging language, which started out as a
pidgin
. A local
creole
gradually emerged, which became ISL.
[1]
Shassi still shares many features and vocabulary items with DGS, although it is too far apart today to be considered a dialect of the latter.
During the 1940s, Shassi became the language of a well-established community of Jewish deaf people in
Jerusalem
and
Tel Aviv
. Today ISL is the most used and taught sign language in Israel, and serves as the main mode of communication for most deaf people in Israel, including Jewish,
Muslim and Christian Arabs
,
Druze
, and
Bedouins
. Some Arab, Druze, and Bedouin towns and villages have sign languages of their own.
[
citation needed
]
In addition to ISL, there is also
signed
Hebrew
used as a tool to teaching deaf children the Hebrew language, and for communication between deaf and hearing people.
On November 29, 2020, the
Israeli government
decided to establish a unit at the
Hebrew Language Academy
that will work to preserve and develop the Israeli sign language.
[3]
The beginnings of an established Deaf community in Israel started with the 1936 Tel Aviv
Purim
parade, when groups from Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa met for the first time. This led to the creation of the Association of the Deaf in Israel.
[4]
The first official board was elected in 1944, with Moshe Bamberger as its first president. The association organized lectures, trips, and holiday celebrations. The community grew as refugees from World War Two fled to Israel, and the association helped new arrivals integrate into the Israeli community by helping them learn Israeli Sign Language and helping them find work. The association completed their Tel Aviv headquarters, Helen Keller House, in 1958.
[4]
Education
[
edit
]
The first school for the deaf was established in 1932, a strict boarding school in Jerusalem that taught
oralism
. Two other oralist schools were established in Tel Aviv in 1941 and Haifa in 1949. The emphasis on oralism began to change in the 1970s, when Izchak Schlesinger began to research ISL, and with Israel hosting the Fourth International Conference on Deafness in 1973.
Manual alphabet
[
edit
]
The
manual alphabet
is quite similar to that of
American Sign Language
. The correspondences are as follows:
- ? ʽ as ASL 'A', but with thumb extended
- ?
b
as ASL 'B'
- ?
g
as ASL 'G'
- ?
d
as ASL 'D', but with fingers 3, 4, 5 flat and tips touching tip of thumb
- ?
h
as ASL 'H'
- ?
v
as ASL '1'
- ?
z
as ASL 'Z'
- ?
ch
as ASL '8', but with only index and pinkie extended
- ?
t
as ASL 'F'
- ?
j
as ASL 'I'
- ?
k
as ASL 'C'
- ?
l
as ASL 'L'
- ?
m
as ASL 'M'
- ?
n
as ASL 'N'
- ?
s
as ASL 'S'
- ? ʽ as bent ASL 'V' (like 'X', but with two bent fingers)
- ?
p
as ASL 'P'
- ?
ts
as ASL '3'
- ?
q
as ASL 'K'
- ?
r
as ASL 'R'
- ?
sh
as ASL 'W'
- ?
t
as ASL 'T'
Unexpected correspondences are ASL 'F' for Hebrew ?
tet
(analogous to Greek
theta
becoming Cyrillic
fita
), '1' rather than 'U' or 'V' for ?
vav
, old-fashioned 'C' and 'K' rather than 'K' and 'Q' for ?
kaf
and ?
qof
(both are pronounced like an English 'k' or hard 'c'), '3' for ?
tsade
(its
cursive
form quite resembles the
Arabic numeral
3
), and 'W' for ?
shin
(reflecting its shape).
If needed, one may indicate the final forms of letters, ? ? ? ? ?, by moving the hand downward. To specify ??
sin
, the hand is turned to face the signer (showing the back of the hand).
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Meir, Irit; Sandler, Wendy;
Padden, Carol
;
Aronoff, Mark
(2010).
"Chapter 18: Emerging sign languages"
(PDF)
. In Marschark, Marc; Spencer, Patricia Elizabeth (eds.).
Oxford Handbook of Deaf Studies, Language, and Education
. Vol. 2. New York:
Oxford University Press
.
ISBN
978-0-19-539003-2
.
OCLC
779907637
. Retrieved
2023-12-08
.
- ^
??????, ?????.
"???? ??? ????? ????? ?? ???? ???? ???????"
.
TheMarker
(in Hebrew)
. Retrieved
1 June
2021
.
- ^
????? ????? ?????? ??? ??????? ????????
- ^
a
b
Bush, Lawrence (June 26, 2016).
"June 27: Helen Keller and the Jews"
.
Jewish Currents
.
Further reading
[
edit
]
- Meir, Irit
&
Sandler, Wendy
. (2007) A Language in Space: The Story of Israel Sign Language. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
Official
| |
---|
Special status
| |
---|
Non-official
| |
---|
Sign languages
| |
---|
|
|
---|
|
Language
families
[a]
| |
---|
By region
[a]
| Sign languages by region
|
---|
Africa
| |
---|
Asia
| |
---|
Europe
| |
---|
North and
Central
America
| |
---|
Oceania
| |
---|
South America
| |
---|
International
| |
---|
|
---|
ASL
| |
---|
Extinct
languages
| |
---|
Linguistics
| |
---|
Fingerspelling
| |
---|
Writing
| |
---|
Language
contact
| |
---|
Media
| |
---|
Persons
| |
---|
Organisations
| |
---|
Miscellaneous
| |
---|
^a
Sign-language names reflect the region of origin. Natural sign languages are not related to the spoken language used in the same region. For example, French Sign Language originated in France, but is not related to French. Conversely,
ASL
and
BSL
both originated in English-speaking countries but are not related to each other; ASL however is related to
French Sign Language
.
^b
Denotes the number (if known) of languages within the family. No further information is given on these languages.
^c
Italics
indicate
extinct languages
.
|