Myanmar Sign Language
Facts
- Language: Myanmar Sign Language
- Alternate names: Burmese Sign Language, မြန်ြာလက်သင်္ကေတမြဘာသာစကာ
- Language code: ysm
- Language family:
Sign Language,
Southeast Asian
(SIL classification)
- Number of speakers: Estimated 50,000-250,000 deaf signers - based on 0.1-0.5% of overall population
- Vulnerability: Threatened
- Script:
More information:
"There are significant dialectal differences between Yangon and Mandalay which sometimes affect understanding. It is not clear if these differences are important enough to recognize the two varieties as separate languages. The decision may ultimately depend more on sociolinguistic factors of identity than on linguistic differences. For now, I am proposing that these two varieties be treated as just one language and share one code, because it will be better to have a code now than to wait until the issue is decided about how many varieties to recognize." - Naw Shay Myar (2020)Research with fluent signers in Myanmar found only a 59% overlap in basic core vocabulary, indicating that Yangon SL and Manadaly SL are two separate languages. - James Woodward (2020)