Russian Sign Language

Russian Sign Language
русский жестовый язык
russkiy zhestovyi yazyk
Native toRussia, Tajikistan, Belarus
RegionRussian[1]
Signers120,000 in Russia (2010 census)[2]
Dialects
Language codes
ISO 639-3Either:
rsl – Russian Sign Language
vsi – Moldovan Sign Language[citation needed]
Glottologruss1270

Russian Sign Language (RSL) is the sign language used by the Deaf community in Russia, with what is possibly additional presence in Belarus and Tajikistan.[citation needed] It belongs to the French Sign Language family.

RSL is a natural language with a grammar that differs from spoken or written Russian language. Signed Russian is an artificial form of communication used in schools and differs from RSL in strictly following Russian grammar.

Although RSL is legally recognized in Russia, it does not enjoy state support and there is a lack of skilled RSL interpreters in the country.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Israel was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Russian Census 2010