Bamako Sign Language (), also known as Malian Sign Language, or LaSiMa () is a
sign language
Sign languages (also known as signed languages) are languages that use the visual-manual modality to convey meaning, instead of spoken words. Sign languages are expressed through manual articulation in combination with #Non-manual elements, no ...
that developed outside the Malian educational system, in the urban tea-circles of
Bamako
Bamako is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mali, with a 2022 population of 4,227,569. It is located on the Niger River, near the rapids that divide the upper and middle Niger valleys in the southwestern part of the country.
Bamak ...
where deaf men gathered after work. It is used predominantly by men, and is threatened by the educational use of
American Sign Language
American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States and most of Anglophone Canadians, Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual language that i ...
, which is the language of instruction for those deaf children who go to school.
See also
*
Tebul Sign Language
Tebul Sign Language () is a village sign language of the village of Uluban in the Dogon region of Mali, among speakers of Tebul Dogon
The Tebul language, also known as ''Tebul Ure'', is a Dogon language spoken in Mali by the ''Tebul U'' (Te ...
, village sign of the
Dogon
Dogon may refer to:
*Dogon people, an ethnic group living in the central plateau region of Mali, in West Africa
*Dogon languages
The Dogon languages are a small closely related language family that is spoken by the Dogon people of Mali and may ...
region
References
External links
*
Sample signs of LaSiMaProject LaSiMa
(YouTube)
Bamako and Dogon sign languages at the University of Central Lancashire
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Sign language isolates
Language isolates of Africa
Sign languages of Mali