The Legal Recognition of Sign Languages

@article{Meulder2015TheLR,
  title={The Legal Recognition of Sign Languages},
  author={Maartje de Meulder},
  journal={Sign Language Studies},
  year={2015},
  volume={15},
  pages={498 - 506}
}
  • M. D. Meulder
  • Published 1 July 2015
  • Computer Science
  • Sign Language Studies
This article provides an analytical overview of the different types of explicit legal recognition of sign languages. Five categories are distinguished: constitutional recognition, recognition by means of general language legislation, recognition by means of a sign language law or act, recognition by means of a sign language law or act including other means of communication, and recognition by legislation on the functioning of the national language council. The article further describes three… 
View via Publisher
58 Citations
Highly Influential Citations
7
Background Citations
29
Methods Citations
2

58 Citations

Citation Type

Citation Type

Recognition of sign language under international law : A case study of Dutch sign language in the Netherlands
Dutch Sign Language is a standardized language used by deaf and non-deaf people in the Netherlands. The government supports and promotes Dutch Sign Language, but it has not been recognized as an…
Promotion in times of endangerment: the Sign Language Act in Finland
The development of sign language recognition legislation is a relatively recent phenomenon in the field of language policy. So far only few authors have documented signing communities’ aspirations…
When language recognition and language shaming go hand in hand – sign language ideologies in Sweden and Norway
ABSTRACT This article focuses on the similar approaches to, yet different contexts of legal recognition of sign languages in Sweden and Norway. We use examples from sign language documentation (both…
Buttering their Bread on Both Sides? The Recognition of Sign Languages and the Aspirations of Deaf Communities
In the past two decades, a wave of campaigns to recognise sign languages have taken place in numerous countries. These campaigns sought official recognition of national sign languages, with the aim…
Sign Language Communities
The twenty-first century has brought a unique dynamic for Sign Language Communities (SLCs) as they respond to threats and opportunities resulting from changes in both their external and internal…
Putting the money where the mouth is/hands are: Icelandic Sign Language and the UNDRIP
The paper discusses an endangered indigenous sign language of Iceland— íslenskt táknmál, ÍTM. Unlike other indigenous endangered languages (e.g. Sámi), or other sign languages (e.g. American Sign…
The Officialisation of South African Sign Language: Implications for Place-Name Planning
Abstract The South African Parliament’s Constitutional Review Committee recommended in 2017 that South African Sign Language (SASL) be declared the country’s 12th official language and that the…
Linguistic Human Rights Discourse in Deaf Community Activism
The past three decades of activism for linguistic human rights (Skutnabb-Kangas 2000) have witnessed examples of language planning by various national and supranational actors in national and…
How to Ensure Bilingualism/Biliteracy in an Indigenous Context: The Case of Icelandic Sign Language
The paper discusses the implementation of a bilingual education language policy in the context of endangered indigenous sign language—Icelandic Sign Language (islenskt taknmal, ITM). Unlike other…
Comparing Minority Languages - a Case Study of Flemish Sign Language and Upper Sorbian
Abstract This paper compares some sociolinguistic aspects of Flemish Sign Language (the language signed in Flanders, the northern part of Belgium) and Upper Sorbian (a West Slavonic language spoken…
...
...

References

SHOWING 1-10 OF 15 REFERENCES
Legal Pathways to the Recognition of Sign Languages: A Comparison of the Catalan and Spanish Sign Language Acts
In some European countries, indirect or partial legal recognition of sign languages (SLs) has been granted in the last few decades through specific policies on deaf education, SL interpreting, or…
Language Policy and Planning: The Case of Italian Sign Language
It is widely known that supranational institutions and organizations, like the United Nations and the European Commission, encouraged national governments to recognize national sign languages as the…
The Eyes Have It! Our Third Official Language: New Zealand Sign Language
The article discusses the background, scope and likely impact of the third official language in New Zealand - the New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL), which was established in April 2006. The Deaf…
Ideological Barriers to American Sign Language: Unpacking Linguistic Resistance
Although there have been significant advances in the status and use of ASL in the United States, there also have often been backlashes to such developments. The latter have typically been manifested…
The Cambridge Handbook of Language Policy: General index
Sign Language Recognition: Tensions between Specifity and Universalism in International Deaf Discourses
The Cambridge Handbook of Language Policy: Language policies and the Deaf community
The Status of Sign Languages. European Aspirations
  • Presenation at British Deaf Association, Annual General Meeting,
  • 2008
Forthcoming . Sign Language Recognition : Tensions between Specificity and Universalism in International Deaf Discourses
  • It ’ s a Small World : Inquiries into International Deaf Spaces
  • 2010
Sign Language Legislation in the European Union
  • 2012
...
...