Filipino Sign Language
| Philippine Sign Language | |
|---|---|
| Filipino Sign Language | |
| Native to | Philippines |
Native speakers | (approximately 121,000 Deaf people living in the Philippines as of 2000[1]) |
French Sign
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | psp |
| Glottolog | phil1239 |
Philippine Sign Language, or Filipino Sign Language (FSL), is the national deaf sign language of the Philippines.[2] Like other sign languages, FSL is a unique language with its own grammar, syntax and morphology; it is neither based on nor resembles Filipino or English.[3] Some researchers consider the indigenous signs of FSL to be at risk of being lost due to the increasing influence of foreign sign languages such as ASL.[3]
ASL influence
FSL is believed to be part of the French Sign Language family.[4] It has been strongly influenced by American Sign Language since the establishment in 1907 of the School for the Deaf and Blind (SDB) (now the Philippine School for the Deaf) by Delia Delight Rice (1883-1964), an American Thomasite teacher born to deaf parents.[5] The school was run and managed by American principals until the 1940s. In the 1960s, contact with American Sign Language continued through the launching of the Deaf Evangelistic Alliance Foundation and the Laguna Christian College for the Deaf. Another source of ASL influence was the assignment of volunteers from the United States Peace Corps, who were stationed at various places in the Philippines from 1974 through 1989, as well as religious organizations that promoted ASL and Manually Coded English.[6] Starting in 1982, the International Deaf Education Association (IDEA), led by former Peace Corps volunteer G. Dennis Drake, established a series of residential elementary programs in Bohol using Philippine Sign Language as the primary language of instruction.[7][8] The Bohol Deaf Academy also primarily emphasizes Philippine Sign Language.[9]
According to sign language researcher Dr. Lisa Martinez, FSL and ASL deviate across three important metrics: different overall form (especially a differing handshape inventory), different methods of sign formation, and different grammar.[3]
Status
Usage of Filipino Sign Language was reported in 2009 as being used by 54% of sign-language users in the Philippines.[10] In 2011, the Department of Education declared Signing Exact English the language of deaf education in the Philippines.[11] In 2011, Department of Education officials announced in a forum that hearing-impaired children were being taught and would continue to be taught using Signing Exact English (SEE) instead of Filipino Sign Language (FSL).[12] In 2012, House Bill No. 450 was introduced in the Philippine House of Representatives to declare FSL as the National Sign Language of the Philippines and to mandate its use as the medium of official communication in all transactions involving the deaf and the language of instruction of deaf education.[11] As of May 2014[update], that bill was pending with the Committee on Social Services.[13]
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on October 30, 2018 but was published in November 12, 2018 signed a law that declares the Filipino Sign Language as the national sign language of the Filipino Deaf. Republic Act 11106 or The Filipino Sign Language Act also declares the country's national sign language as the official sign language of the government in all transactions involving the deaf.[14]
The law, which seeks to eliminate all forms of discrimination against the Filipino Deaf, also mandates the use of the Filipino Sign Language in schools, broadcast media, and workplaces. It also mandates the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino, in consultation with the stakeholders, to establish a national system of standards and procedures for the interpretation of the Filipino Sign Language. The University of the Philippines and other education agencies are tasked to develop guidelines for the development of training materials in the education of the Deaf. The law also require the availability of qualified sign language interpreters in all hearings, proceedings, and government transactions involving the Deaf. [15]
“The FSL shall be recognized, promoted and supported as the medium of official communication in all transactions involving the deaf, and as the language of instruction of deaf education, without prejudice to the use of other forms of communications depending on individual choice or preference,” the law states. The Department of Education (DepEd), Commission on Higher Education (CHEd), Techinical Education, and Skills Development Authority (Tesda), and all other national and local government agencies involved in the education of the deaf, are tasked to use and coordinate with each other on the use of FSL as the medium of instruction in deaf education.[16]
Bibliography
- Video
- Mi Ultimo Adios in Filipino Sign Language[17]
- Philippine National Anthem in Filipino Sign Language[18]
- Silent Odyssey: A Journey into the Deaf World[19]
- Filipino Sign Language GMANews TV Documentary[20]
- Text
- An Introduction to Filipino Sign Language (PDRC/PFD, 2004)
- Filipino Sign Language: A Compilation of Signs from Regions of the Philippines (PFD, 2005)
- Status Report on the Use of Sign Language in the Philippines (NSLC)
- Filipino Sign Language (PEN International, DLS-College of St. Benilde) downloadable PDF
- Republic Act 11106 downloadable PDF
See also
References
- ^ "The Philippines". Programs. discoveringdeafworlds.org.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Glottologwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b c Martinez, PhD, Liza (2012-12-01). "Primer on Filipino Sign Language". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 2017-02-09.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - ^ Wittmann, Henri (1991). "Classification linguistique des langues signées non vocalement." Revue québécoise de linguistique théorique et appliquée 10:1.215–88.[1]
- ^ A century of absolute commitment - The Manila Times Internet Edition (archived from the original on 2007-02-25)
- ^ Abat, Rafaelito M., and Liza B. Martinez. The History of Sign Language in the Philippines: Piecing Together the Puzzle, Philippine Federation of the Deaf / Philippine Deaf Resource Center, Philippine Linguistics Congress, Department of Linguistics, University of the Philippines, January 25-27, 2006, 8 pages (PDF), retrieved on: March 25, 2008 (archived from the original on 2011-07-28)
- ^ Education, July 17, 2012, International Deaf Education Association, retrieved on August 25, 2014.
- ^ The Founder And History, August 16, 2012, International Deaf Education Association, retrieved on August 25, 2014.
- ^ Academics, Bohol Deaf Academy, retrieved on August 25, 2014.
- ^ Calls made for a national language for the deaf - The Carillon (archived from the original on 2012-03-25)
- ^ a b House Bill No. 450 : Explanatory Note, Congress of the Philippines, July 1, 2013.
- ^ The right of the deaf to their language, Philippine Daily Inquirer, September 16, 2011.
- ^ Hon. Tinio, Antonio L : HOUSE MEASURES SPONSORED/AUTHORED, Retrieved on 2014-05-29.
- ^ An Act Declaring The Filipino Sign Language as the National Sign Language of the Filipino Deaf and the Official Sign Language of Government in All Transactions involving the Deaf, and Mandating its use in Schools, Broadcast Media and Workplaces - The Philippine Official Gazette
- ^ Duterte Signs Filipino Sign Language Into Law - ABS-CBN News
- ^ Duterte Signs Filipino Sign Language Act - Inquirer News
- ^ First Ever Filipino Sign Language Interpretation of Rizal's Poem - Mirana Medina, Filmmaker
- ^ Philippine National Anthem in Sign Language - Planet Eye Traveler
- ^ Filipino Filmmaker Showcases Deaf Community - Mirana Medina, Filmmaker
- ^ Filipino Sign Language (in Filipino), GMANews TV Documentary Report
