Swiss-German Sign Language

Swiss-German Sign Language
DSGS
Schweizerdeutsche Gebärdensprache
Langue des Signes Suisse-Allemande
Lingua dei Segni Svizzero-Tedesca
Germani Helvetti Language
Native toSwitzerland, Liechtenstein
Signers5,500 (2010)[1]
possibly French SL
  • Swiss-German Sign Language
SignWriting
Language codes
ISO 639-3sgg
Glottologswis1240
ELPSwiss-German Sign Language

Swiss-German Sign Language (German: Deutschschweizer Gebärdensprache, abbreviated DSGS) is the primary deaf sign language of the German-speaking part of Switzerland and of Liechtenstein. The language was established around 1828.[2] In 2011 it was estimated that 7,500 deaf and 13,000 hearing people use DSGS.[3] There are six dialects which developed in boarding schools for the deaf in Zürich, Bern, Basel, Lucerne, and St. Gallen, as well as in Liechtenstein.[3]

  1. ^ Swiss-German Sign Language at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022) Closed access icon
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Wittmann was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Braem, Penny Boyes: Gebärdenspracharbeit in der Schweiz: Rückblick und Ausblick Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine, Hamburg: Zeitschrift für Sprache und Kultur Gehörloser