English [ edit ]
Pronunciation [ edit ]
Audio (Southern England) (file )
sign language (countable and uncountable , plural sign languages )
( countable ) One of several natural languages , typically used by the deaf , in which words consist of hand shapes , motions , positions , and facial expressions.
2000 , Wendy Sandler, Diane Lillo-Martin, edited by Mark Aronoff and Janie Rees-Miller, The Handbook of Linguistics :It is safe to say that the academic world is now convinced that sign languages are real languages in every sense of the term.
( uncountable ) The sign language (sense 1) that is used locally or that is mistakenly believed to be the only one.
I'm taking night classes to learn sign language .
( uncountable ) Sign languages (sense 1) considered collectively.
There are some unique properties found in sign language compared to spoken language.
( countable or uncountable ) Communication through gestures as a substitute for language, for example, between monks under a vow of silence or during trade amongst different linguistic groups.
1847 , Francis Parkman, The Oregon Trail :Even Maxwell the trader, who has been most among them, is compelled to resort to the curious sign language common to most of the prairie tribes.
Derived terms [ edit ]
Related terms [ edit ]
Translations [ edit ]
sign language
Adamorobe Sign Language: please add this translation if you can
Afghan Sign Language: please add this translation if you can
Afrikaans: gebaretaal
Algerian Sign Language: please add this translation if you can
American Sign Language: please add this translation if you can
Arabic: لُغَة إِشَارَة f ( luḡa(t) ʔišāra )
Armenian: նշանաբանը ( nšanabanə )
Azerbaijani: işarə dili
Bavarian: Gebeadnsproch f , Gebeadnsproche f
Bengali: প্রতীকী ভাষা ( protiki bhaśa )
Bikol Central: palba (bcl)
Brazilian Sign Language: please add this translation if you can
Burmese: please add this translation if you can
Catalan: llengua de signes (ca) f
Catalan Sign Language: please add this translation if you can
Chinese:
Mandarin: 手語 / 手语 (zh) ( shǒuyǔ )
Corsican: lingua di i cenni f
Czech: znakový jazyk m
Danish: tegnsprog (da) n
Dutch: gebarentaal (nl)
Esperanto: gestolingvo
Estonian: viipekeel (et)
Faroese: teknmál n
Finnish: viittomakieli (fi)
French: langue des signes (fr) f , langage des signes m
Galician: lingua de signos f
Georgian: ჟესტების ენა ( žesṭebis ena ) , ნიშნების ენა ( nišnebis ena )
German: Gebärdensprache (de) f , Zeichensprache (de) f
Greek: νοηματική γλώσσα (el) f ( noïmatikí glóssa )
Greenlandic: ussersuutit
Honduras Sign Language: please add this translation if you can
Hungarian: jelnyelv (hu)
Icelandic: ( sign language ) táknmál (is) n , ( finger language ) fingramál n
Indonesian: bahasa isyarat (id)
Inuktitut: ᐆᒃᑐᐊᕋᐅᓯᕋᖅ ( ooktoaraosiraq )
Inupiatun: urraaraq
Inuvialuktun: ujjiqsuuraq / tikuraq
Irish: teanga chomharthaíochta f
Italian: lingua dei segni f
Japanese: 手話 (ja) ( しゅわ, shuwa )
Kalaallisut: ussersuutit
Kazakh: ым тілі ( ym tılı )
Korean: 수화(手話) (ko) ( suhwa ) , 수어(手語) ( sueo )
Lakota: wíyutȟapi
Latin: lingua gesticulatoria f , lingua signorum f
Lule Sami: siejvvemgiella
Luxembourgish: Gebäerdesprooch f , Zeechesprooch f
Malay: bahasa isyarat (ms)
Maori: reo rotarota
Navajo: naashchid
Northern Sami: giehtagiella
Norwegian:
Bokmål: tegnspråk n
Nynorsk: teiknspråk n
Occitan: lenga dels signes f , lenga de signes f
Polish: język migowy (pl) m
Portuguese: linguagem de sinais f ( Brazil ) , língua gestual f ( Portugal ) , linguagem gestual f ( Portugal )
Romanian Sign Language: please add this translation if you can
Russian: язы́к же́стов m ( jazýk žéstov ) , же́стовый язы́к (ru) m ( žéstovyj jazýk )
Sardinian: limba de sos sinnos f
Scots: sign leid
Sicilian: lingua dî signa f
Spanish: lengua de signos f , lengua de señas f
Swahili: lugha ya ishara
Swedish: teckenspråk (sv) n
Tajik: забони ишоратӣ ( zaboni išoratī )
Thai: ภาษามือ (th) ( paa-sǎa-mʉʉ )
Tibetan: བརྡ་སྐད ( brda skad )
Turkish: işaret dili (tr)
Ukrainian: жестова мова f ( žestova mova )
Uzbek: ishora tili
Vietnamese: ngôn ngữ ký hiệu (vi) , thủ ngữ
Welsh: iaith arwyddion f
West Frisian: gebeartetaal
Yiddish: שטומ־לשון ( shtum-loshn )
See also [ edit ]