Estonian Sign Language

National sign language of Estonia

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Estonian Sign Language

eesti viipekeel (EVK)
Native to| Estonia

Native speakers

| 1,500 (2011)[1]

Language family

probably French Sign Language family[2]

* probably Russian Sign Language[2]
* Estonian Sign Language

Language codes
ISO 639-3| `eso`
Glottolog| `esto1238`
ELP| Estonian Sign Language

Estonian Sign Language (Estonian: eesti viipekeel, EVK) is the national sign language of Estonia.

## History and character[edit]

Research into the origins and nature of EVK did not begin until the late 1980s, so many details remain unknown.[2] Ulrike Zeshan (2005) concluded that, based on the historical influence of the German and Russian oral methods of deaf education, the fact that the first deaf school in Estonia was established in 1866 in Vändra in the Governorate of Livonia of the Russian Empire and the evident influence of Russian Sign Language (RSL) present in EVK, it most likely either derived from or was strongly influenced by RSL, thus making Estonian Sign Language a member of the French Sign Language family.[2] Taniroo (2007) found that 61% of Estonian and Russian signs of the 200-word Swadesh list were identical, confirming the hypothesis that EVK is either related to or has been significantly influenced by RSL through language contact.[2] However, as of 2016 there were 'no studies comparing EVK vocabulary with any other sign languages than Russian SL.'[2]: 50 Although the spoken and written Estonian and Finnish languages are closely related Finno-Ugric languages and there are some notable and probable Finnish Sign Language influences on EVK, there seems to have been 'no considerable historical language contact between EVK and Finnish Sign Language' (Hollman 2016).[2]: 48 In the unlikely event that EVK originally derived from Finnish Sign Language, it would belong to the Swedish Sign Language family.

Mahoney (2017) conducted the first-known 100-word Swadesh–Woodward list comparison of EVK and Latvian Sign Language, concluding that a possible relationship between them – as descending from VLFS, perhaps via ÖGS and/or RSL, as Wittmann (1991) and Bickford (2005) proposed – was 'still uncertain as it is unclear how sign languages disseminated in Eastern European countries during the Soviet Union, but aside from superficial impressions that the core lexicons are similar, signs with shared parameters displaying small variation in handshape while retaining 4 selected fingers suggests that these languages share a parent'. She added that '[a]t present there is no reason to assume that Estonian and Latvian sign language have a mother-daughter relationship'.[3]

In its formative stages, Estonian Sign Language was influenced by Russian and Finnish Sign Language; for example, the EVK sign for 'butterfly' developed from the Finnish sign for 'bird'.[citation needed] There are several dialects, the most archaic of which is the Pärnu variety. Like other sign languages, EVK is influenced by the local oral language. For instance, some signs are based on fingerspelling the first letter of an Estonian word, as in the sign for restoran, meaning 'restaurant'.[citation needed]

## Current status[edit]

Instruction for parents of deaf children is available in Tallinn. Teaching and research began in 1990 at Tartu University.[citation needed]

In 1998 there were about 4,500 signers out of a deaf population of 2000 and a hearing-impaired population ten times that number.[citation needed] It is widespread in the cities of Tallinn and Pärnu among deaf ethnic Estonians; deaf Russians in Tallinn use Russian Sign Language, Russians outside Tallinn tend to use a Russian-Estonian Sign Language pidgin, or may be bilingual.[citation needed]

Estonian Sign Language was recognised as an independent language in 2007 under the Language Act.[2]

## References[edit]

1. ^ Estonian Sign Language at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Hollman, Liivi (2016). "Colour terms, kinship terms and numerals in Estonian Sign Language". Semantic Fields in Sign Languages: Colour, Kinship and Quantification. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. pp. 41–72. ISBN 9781501503429. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
3. ^ Mahoney, Shaina (12 December 2017). Apt to change: A Comparison of Handshape Aperture in Estonian and Latvian Sign Languages (PDF) (undergraduate thesis). Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania: Bryn Mawr College. pp. 7, 24, 25. Retrieved 22 April 2020.

## External links[edit]

* SPREADTHESIGN - Estonian Sign Language alphabet photo glossary
* SPREADTHESIGN - Estonian Sign Language online video dictionary
* Dictionary at the Institute of the Estonian Language

## Further reading[edit]

* Hollman, Liivi; Sutrop, Urmas (2010). "Basic Color Terms in Estonian Sign Language". Sign Language Studies. 11 (2): 130–157. doi:10.1353/sls.2010.0011. JSTOR 26190735.

* v
* t
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Languages of Estonia

Official language|

* Estonian

Regional languages|

* South Estonian
* Seto
* Võro

Minority languages|

* German
* Russian
* Swedish

Sign languages|

* Estonian Sign Language
* Russian Sign Language

Extinct languages|

* Laiuse Romani

* v
* t
* e

Sign language

* List of sign languages
* List by number of signers

Language
families[a]|

Sign languages by family

Australian
Aboriginal
(multiple families)[c]|

* Diyari
* Djingili
* Eltye eltyarrenke
* Iltyeme iltyeme
* Jaralde
* Kalkutungu
* Miriwoong
* Mudburra
* Pitha Pitha
* Rdaka rdaka
* Umpila
* Far North Queensland
* Warlmanpa
* Warluwara
* Warramunga
* Worora Kinship
* Yan-nhaŋu
* Yir Yoront
* Yolŋu

| Western Desert|

* Kartutjarra
* Manjiljarra
* Ngaatjatjarra

|

Zendath Kesign|

* Meriam
* Western Torres Strait Islander

Arab (Ishaaric)|

* Egyptian
* Kuwaiti
* Libyan
* Qatari Unified
* Yemeni

Iraqi–
Levantine|

* Iraqi

Levantine|

* Jordanian
* Lebanese
* Palestinian
* Syrian

Possible|

* Emirati
* Saudi
* Omani

BANZSL|

* Auslan
* Papua New Guinean (PNGSL)
* British (BSL)
* Northern Ireland (NISL)
* Fijian
* Maritime (MSL)
* New Zealand (NZSL)
* Samoan
* South African (SASL)

Swedish Sign|

* Eritrean (EriSL)
* Finland-Swedish (FinSSL)
* Portuguese (LGP)
* Swedish (Teckenspråk)
* Finnish (Viittomakieli)

Chinese Sign|

* Chinese (CSL/ZGS)
* Shanghai
* Hong Kong (HKSL)
* Macau

Chilean-Paraguayan-
Uruguayan Sign|

* Chilean (LSCh)

Paraguayan-
Uruguayan Sign|

* Paraguay (LSPY)
* Uruguay (LSU)

Francosign|

* Algerian (LSA)
* Swiss-German (DSGS)
* Estonian (Eesti viipekeel)
* Irish (ISL)
* Australian-Irish
* Brazilian (Libras)
* Lithuanian
* Catalan (LSC)
* Valencian (LSV)
* French (LSF)
* Old French[c]
* Romanian (LSR)

American
(ASLic)|

* American (ASL)
* Black ASL (BASL)
* Protactile
* Bolivian
* Burmese
* Yangon
* Mandalay
* Cambodian
* Costa Rican
* Dominican
* Jamaican
* Malaysian (BIM)
* Oneida (OSL)
* Panamanian
* Filipino (FSL)
* Puerto Rican (PRSL)
* Quebec (LSQ)
* Singapore (SgSL)

Indonesian (Nusantaric)|

* Indonesian (Bisindo)
* Jakarta
* Yogyakarta

Francophone African
(Françafrosign)|

* Ethiopian
* Chadian
* Ghanaian
* Guinean
* Bamako (LaSiMa)
* Moroccan
* Nigerian
* Sierra Leonean

Mixed, Hand Talk|

* Oneida (OSL)

Mixed, Hoailona ʻŌlelo|

* Creole Hawaiʻi Sign Language (CHSL)

Mixed, French (LSF)|

* Greek (ΕΝΓ/ENG)
* Cypriot (ΚΝΓ/KNG)

Austro-
Hungarian|

| Russian Sign|

* Bulgarian (БЖЕ)
* Georgian
* Latvian (LSL)
* Mongolian
* Russian (РЖЯ)

|

Yugoslavic Sign|

* Croatian (HZJ)
* Kosovar
* Serbian
* Slovenian
* Yugoslav (YSL)

Dutch Sign|

* Dutch (NGT)
* Gambian

Italian Sign|

* Italian (LIS)
* Tunisian (TSL)

Mexican Sign|

* Mexican (LSM)
* Honduran (LESHO)

Old Belgian|

* Flemish (VGT)
* French Belgian (LSFB)

Danish (Tegnic)|

* Malagasy
* Icelandic (Táknmál)
* Norwegian (Tegnspråk)
* Danish (Tegnsprog)
* Teknmál

Viet-Thai|

* Hai Phong
* Hanoi
* Ho Chi Minh
* Thai (TSL/MSTSL)

German Sign|

* German (DGS)
* Polish (PJM)
* Israeli (Shassi)

Indo-Pakistani
Sign|

* Bangalore-Madras
* Beluchistan
* Bengali
* Bombay
* Calcutta
* Delhi
* Nepali
* North West Frontier Province
* Punjab-Sindh

Japanese Sign|

* Japanese (JSL/Nihon Shuwa)
* Korean (KSL/Hanguk Sueo)
* Taiwanese (TSL/Taiwan Shouyu)

Kentish[c]|

* Old Kentish
* Chilmark
* Martha's Vineyard (MVSL)

Mayan (Meemul Tziij)|

* Highland Maya
* Yucatec
* Chicán
* Nohkop
* Nohya
* Trascorral
* Cepeda Peraza

Original Thai Sign|

* Chiangmai
* Hai Phong
* Old Bangkok

Paget Gorman|

* Namibian (NSL)

Plains Sign Language|

* Anishinaabe
* Apsáalooke
* Arikara
* Chaticks si Chaticks
* Cheyenne
* Coahuilteco
* Dane-zaa
* Diné
* Hinono'eino
* Hiraacá
* Icāk
* Karankawa
* Liksiyu
* Maagiadawa
* Meciciya ka pekiskwakehk
* Nakota
* Ni Mii Puu
* Niimíipuu
* Niitsítapi
* Nųmą́khų́·ki
* Nʉmʉnʉʉ
* Omaha
* Palus
* Piipaash
* Ppáⁿkka
* Schitsu'umsh
* Shiwinna
* Sioux
* Taos
* Tickanwa•tic
* Tháumgá
* Tsuu T'ina
* Umatilla
* Wazhazhe
* Wichita
* Wíyut'a / Wíblut'e
* Wyandot

Mixed, American (ASL)|

* Oneida (OSL)

Plateau|

* A'aninin
* Kalispel
* Ktunaxa (ʾa·qanⱡiⱡⱡitnam)
* Nesilextcl'n
* Shuswap (Secwepemcékst)
* Sqeliz

Providencia–
Cayman Sign|

* Providence Island (Provisle)
* Old Cayman (Guyanese)

Isolates|

* Afghan
* Al-Sayyid Bedouin (ABSL)
* Albanian (AlbSL)
* Albarradas Sign Language
* Alipur
* Argentine (LSA)
* Armenian
* Caucasian (Harsneren)[c]
* Azerbaijani (AİD)
* Belizean
* Bhutanese
* Tibetan (Bökyi lagda)
* Bribri
* Brunca
* Cena
* Chatino
* Cuban (LSC)
* Navajo/Diné Family
* Dogon/Douentza
* Ecuadorian (LSEC)
* Enga
* Ghandruk
* Ghardaia (AJSL)
* Guatemalan (Lensegua)
* Guinea-Bissau
* Henniker[c]
* Hawaiʻi (Hoailona ʻŌlelo)
* Creole HSL
* Inuit
* Atgangmuurniq
* Greenlandic (Ussersuataarneq)
* Jhankot
* Jumla
* Ka'apor
* Kajana
* Kafr Qasim
* Kailge
* Kata Kolok
* Kenyan (KSL/LAK)
* Somali (SSL)
* Keresan Pueblo (KPISL/Keresign)
* Kisindo
* Jamaican Country (KS/Konchri Sain)
* Macedonian
* Maltese (LSM)
* Hausa (HSL/Magannar Hannu)
* Mardin
* Mauritian (MSL)
* M'bour
* Mehek
* Miyakubo Shuwa
* Burkina (Mossi)
* Mount Avejaha
* Mozambican
* Naga
* Nicaraguan (ISN)
* Old Costa Rican
* Ottoman (Seraglio/Harem)
* Ban Khor (Pasa kidd)
* Penang
* Persian
* Peruvian (LSP)
* Inmaculada
* Qahveh Khaneh
* Rennellese[c]
* Rossel Island
* Rwandan (AKR/AMR)
* Sandy River[c]
* Salvadoran
* Sinasina
* Sivia
* Spanish (LSE)
* Tebul
* Trinidad and Tobago (TTSL)
* Turkish (TİD)
* Ugandan (USL)
* Venezuelan (LSV/VSL)
* Wanib
* West African
* Adamorobe (AdaSL / Mumu kasa)
* Bura (Burasl)
* Mofu-Gudur
* Nanabin (NanabinSL)
* Yoruban (YSL)
* Zambian

Other groupings|

* Amami Shuwa languages
* Ethiopian languages
* Laotian languages
* Sri Lankan languages
* Sudanese languages (~150)[b]
* Tanzanian languages (7+)[b]
* Zimsign languages

* International Sign

By region[a]|

Sign languages by region

Africa|

Algeria
Algerian
Ghardaia
Cameroon
Maroua
Ghana
Adamorobe (AdaSL / Mumu kasa)
Nanabin
Ivory Coast
Bouakako (LaSiBo)
Kenya
Kenyan
Mali
Tebul
Bamako (LaSiMa)
Nigeria
Bura
Hausa (Magannar Hannu)
Senegal
Mbour
Somalia, Somaliland & Djibouti
Somali
South Africa
South African
Tanzania
Tanzanian
Uganda
Ugandan
Zambia
Zambian

Asia|

Bengal
Bengali
Cambodia
Cambodian
China
Chinese
Hong Kong
Hong Kong (HKSL)
India
Alipur
Bengali
Indo-Pakistani
Naga
Indonesia
Indonesian
Kata Kolok (Benkala, Balinese)
Iran
Persian
Iraq
Iraqi
Kurdish
Israel
Al-Sayyid Bedouin
Ghardaia
Israeli
Kafr Qasem
Japan
Amami Oshima
Japanese
Miyakubo
Korea
Korean
Laos
Laotian
Malaysia
Malaysian
Penang
Selangor
Mongolia
Mongolian
Nepal
Ghandruk
Jhankot
Jumla
Nepalese
Philippines
Filipino
Saudi Arabia
Saudi
Singapore
Singapore
Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan
Taiwan
Taiwanese
Tajikistan
Russian
Tibet
Tibetan (Bökyi lagda)
Thailand
Old Bangkok
Chiangmai
Thai
Ban Khor (Pasa kidd)
Vietnam
Vietnamese

Europe|

Armenia
Armenian
Austria
Austrian
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijani
Belgium
Flemish
French Belgian
United Kingdom
British
Croatia
Croatian
Denmark
Danish
Faroese (Teknmál)
Estonia
Estonian
Finland
Finnish
France
Ghardaia
French
Lyons
Germany
German
Greece
Greek
Hungary
Hungarian
Iceland
Icelandic
Ireland
Irish
Italy
Italian
Kosovo
Yugoslav (Kosovar)
Latvia
Latvian
Lithuania
Lithuanian
Moldova
Russian
Netherlands
Dutch
North Macedonia
Macedonian
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Norway
Norwegian
Poland
Polish
Portugal
Portuguese
Russia
Russian
Slovenia
Slovenian
Spain
Catalan
Spanish
Valencian
Sweden
Swedish
Switzerland
Swiss-German
Turkey
Central Taurus
Mardin
Turkish
Ukraine
Ukrainian

North and
Central
America|

Plains Sign Talk
Belize
Belizean
Canada
American (ASL)

Black ASL
Protactile
Blackfoot
Cree
Ojibwa
Oneida
Maritime (MSL)
Quebec
Inuit (Atgangmuurniq)
Plateau
Cayman
Old Cayman
Costa Rica
Bribri
Brunca
Old Costa Rican
New Costa Rican
Cuba
Cuban
Greenland
Greenlandic (Ussersuataarneq)
Guatemala
Guatemalan
Mayan
Haiti
Haitian
Honduras
Honduran
Mexico
Albarradas
Chatino
Mayan
Mexican
Nicaragua
Nicaraguan
Panama
Chiriqui
Panamanian
El Salvador
Salvadoran
Old Salvadoran
United States
American (ASL)

Black ASL
Protactile
Blackfeet
Cree
Cheyenne
Ojibwa
Oneida
Keresan (Keresign)
Martha's Vineyard
Navajo
Navajo Family
Sandy River Valley
Henniker

Oceania|

Australia
Auslan
Australian-Irish
Akitiri (Eltye eltyarrenke)
Far North Queensland Indigenous
Arrernte (Iltyeme iltyeme)
Warlpiri (Rdaka rdaka)
Manjiljarra
Warlmanpa
Warumungu (Warramunga)
Mudbura (Mudburra)
Ngada
Umpila

Far North Queensland
Western Desert
Western Torres Strait Islander
Yir Yoront
Yolŋu
Hawaii (USA)
Hawaiʻan (Haoilona ʻŌlelo)
New Zealand
New Zealand (NZSL)
Papua New Guinea
Enga
Kailge
Mehek
Mount Avejaha
Papua New Guinean (PNGSL)
Rossel Island
Sinasina
Wanib
Samoa and American Samoa
Samoan

South America|

Argentina
Argentine (LSA)
Bolivia
Bolivian
Brazil
Brazilian (Libras)
Cena
Ka'apor
Chile
Chilean
Colombia
Colombian
Provisle
Ecuador
Ecuadorian
Paraguay
Paraguayan
Peru
Inmaculada
Peruvian
Sivia
Uruguay
Uruguayan
Venezuela
Venezuelan

International|

* International Sign
* Makaton
* Monastic
* Signalong

ASL|

* Grammar
* Idioms
* Literature
* Profanity
* Name signs

Extinct
languages|

* Chilmark
* Diyari
* Jaralde
* Kalkutungu
* Henniker Sign Language
* Martha's Vineyard
* Old French
* Old Kent
* Plateau Sign Language
* Pitha Pitha
* Sandy River Valley Sign Language
* Warluwara

Linguistics|

* Grammar (ASL)
* Bimodal bilingualism
* Phonology (ASL)
* Handshape / Location / Orientation / Movement / Expression
* Mouthing
* Nonmanual feature
* Sign names

Fingerspelling|

* American
* British (two-handed)
* Catalan
* Chilean
* Esperanto
* French
* German
* Hungarian
* Irish
* Japanese
* Korean
* Polish
* Russian
* Serbo-Croatian
* Spanish
* Ukrainian
* Portuguese

Writing|

* ASL-phabet
* Hamburg Notation System
* Stokoe notation
* SignWriting
* si5s
* ASLwrite ()

Language
contact|

* Contact sign
* Initialized sign
* Mouthing

Signed Oral
Languages|

* Indian Signing System
* Manually coded English
* Manually coded language in South Africa
* Manually Coded Malay
* Paget Gorman Sign System
* Signed Dutch
* Signed French
* Signed German
* Signed Italian
* Signed Japanese
* Signed Polish
* Signed Spanish
* Signing Exact English
* Signed Swedish

Others|

* Bilingual–bicultural education
* Manually coded language

Media|

* Films (list)
* Television shows (list)

Persons|

* Jabbar Baghtcheban
* Jeanette Berglind
* Pär Aron Borg
* Thomas Braidwood
* Laurent Clerc
* Abbé de l'Épée
* Roger Fouts
* Valerie Sutton
* Thomas Gallaudet
* Abbé Sicard
* William Stokoe
* Pierre Pélissier

Organisations|

* Association of Visual Language Interpreters of Canada
* International Center on Deafness and the Arts
* Mimics and Gesture Theatre
* World Association of Sign Language Interpreters

Miscellaneous|

* Baby sign language
* CHCI chimpanzee center (Washoe, Loulis)
* Open Outcry
* Legal recognition
* U.S. Army hand and arm signals
* Monastic sign languages
* Tactile signing
* Protactile
* Tic-tac

^a Sign-language names reflect the region of origin. Natural sign languages are not related to the spoken language used in the same region. For example, French Sign Language originated in France, but is not related to French. Conversely, ASL and BSL both originated in English-speaking countries but are not related to each other; ASL however is related to French Sign Language.

^b Denotes the number (if known) of languages within the family. No further information is given on these languages.

^c Italics indicate extinct languages.
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