By Our Special Correspondent
The UN General Assembly declared September 23 as the International Day of Sign Languages to raise awareness of the importance of sign language in fully realizing the human rights of deaf people.
The theme of the 2022 International Day of Sign Languages is "Sign Languages Unite Us". The world once again highlights the unity formed through our sign languages. Deaf communities, governments, and civil society organizations are making concerted efforts to foster, promote, and recognize national sign languages as part of their countries' vibrant and diverse linguistic landscapes.
According to the World Federation of the Deaf, there are more than 70 million deaf people worldwide. More than 80% of them live in developing countries. Collectively, they use more than 300 different sign languages.
Sign languages are completely natural languages, structurally different from spoken languages. There is also an international sign language, which is used by deaf people at international meetings and informally when traveling and socializing. Considered a pidgin form of sign language, it is not as complex as natural sign languages and has a limited lexicon.
National sign languages are complete, complex natural languages that have the same linguistic features as spoken languages, including phonetic, phonemic, syllabic, morphological, syntactic, pragmatic levels of speech and organization. They are mother tongue and natural languages of deaf children. They are a vector for the inclusion of deaf children in deaf communities and society, encouraging the construction of their own identities and communities.
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