Alternate Names: Auslan
Dialects: None known. Related to British Sign Language ,, with influences also from Irish , and American sign languages ,. Many structural similarities between British Sign Language (BSL) ,, Australian Sign Language (Auslan) ,, and New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) , and a high degree of mutual intelligibility (2003 T. Johnston). Linguists sometimes use the name BANZSL to refer to them as a group, while still recognizing them as separate related languages.
Status Notes: De facto language of provincial identity in New South Wales.
Genealogy:
Demographics: 7,150 (2006 census).
Language Use: Some signed interpretation in court, for college students, at important public events. Australian Signed English, a manual system for representing English [eng], is distinct from Australian Sign Language, and is used by hearing people for communication with the deaf, to teach the deaf, and officially so in New South Wales.
Language Development: Taught in primary schools. Films. TV. Videos. Dictionary. Grammar. Bible portions: 1999–2002.
Typology: Two-handed fingerspelling system.
Nation of Origin: Australia
Other Comments: Earliest schools for the deaf established by British deaf immigrants in 1860. Many agencies for the deaf. Sign language instruction for parents of deaf children. Committee on national sign language.