Hanoi Sign Language

Facts

  • Language: Hanoi Sign Language
  • Alternate names: ngôn ngữ ký hiệu Hà Nội, Ha Noi Sign Language, HNSL, NNKHHN, Vietnamese Sign Language, Northern Vietnamese Sign Language
  • Language code: hab
  • Language family: Deaf sign language (SIL classification)
  • Number of speakers: 39000
  • Vulnerability: Endangered
  • Script:

More information:

    "Ha Noi Sign Language (HNSL) initially developed out of a mixture of original sign languages in Ha Noi with Ho Chi Minh City Sign Language (HCMCSL) used at Lai Thieu School for deaf people in Binh Duong Province in Southern Viet Nam.... it is likely that only a few students from Ha Noi went to the Lai Thieu School and brought HCMCSL to Ha Noi. Even though, these bilingual deaf people were small in number, there were some effects on HNSL.... The first school for deaf people in Ha Noi was established in 1976. The 21-year separation of users of HNSL from users of HCMCSL, linked with the 21-year lack of educational opportunities for deaf people in Ha Noi also had effects on the history of HNSL and its relationship to HCMCSL." (Woodward et al., 2015)