Alternate Names: NZSL
Dialects: None known. 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, 2005 R. McKee). Linguists sometimes use the name BANZSL to refer to them as a group, while still recognizing them as separate related languages.
Genealogy:
Demographics: 20,200 (2013 census).
Language Use: Developed informally among deaf people at school and in deaf organizations. Used since 1800s. First school for the deaf established 1880 with oralist policies until 1979.
Language Development: TV. Dictionary. Grammar.
Typology: Two-handed finger-spelling system derived from British Sign Language ,.
Nation of Origin: New Zealand