Alternate Names: ISL
Dialects: Not derived from and relatively little influenced by other sign languages. No special signs introduced from outside by educators. Minor dialect variation.
Genealogy:
Demographics: L2 users: 5,000 (Van Cleve 1986). Including some hearing persons.
Language Use: Not all deaf use ISL. Interpreters provided in courts. Some interpretation for college students. Sign language instruction for parents of deaf children. Many sign language classes for hearing people. Committee on national sign language; organization for sign language teachers. Classroom sign language and that used by deaf adults outside are different.
Language Development: Films. TV. Videos. Dictionary. Grammar.
Typology: A finger-spelling system developed in 1976.
Nation of Origin: Israel
Other Comments: The first deaf school was established in Jerusalem in 1934. Jewish.