Malaysian Sign Language ( ms, Bahasa Isyarat Malaysia, or BIM) is the principal language of the deaf community of

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

. It is also the official sign language used by the Malaysian government to communicate with the deaf community and was officially recognised by the Malaysian government in 2008 as a means to officially communicate with and among the deaf, particularly on official broadcasts and announcements. BIM has many dialects, differing from state to state. Malaysian Sign Language was created with the establishment of the

Malaysian Federation of the Deaf Malaysian may refer to: * Something from or related to Malaysia, a country in Southeast Asia * Malaysian Malay, a dialect of Malay language spoken mainly in Malaysia * Malaysian people, people who are identified with the country of Malaysia regard ...

in 1998, and its use has expanded among deaf leaders and participants. It is based on

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 of America and most of Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual language that is expre ...

(ASL), but the two are considered different languages. BIM in turn has been the basis for

Indonesian Sign Language Indonesian Sign Language, or Bahasa Isyarat Indonesia (BISINDO), is any of several related deaf sign languages of Indonesia, at least on the island of Java. It is based on American Sign Language, with local admixture in different cities. Althoug ...

Kod Tangan Bahasa Malaysia Kod Tangan Bahasa Malaysia (KTBM), or Manually Coded Malay, is a signed form of the Malay language recognized by the government in Malaysia and the Malaysian Ministry of Education. It is used as an aid to teachers teaching the Malay language to d ...

or Manually Coded Malay (KTBM) is another teaching method created by hearing educators and linguists in between 1980 and 1986 and remains the only form of sign recognized by the

Malaysian Ministry of Education Malaysian may refer to: * Something from or related to Malaysia, a country in Southeast Asia * Malaysian Malay, a dialect of Malay language spoken mainly in Malaysia * Malaysian people, people who are identified with the country of Malaysia regard ...

as a method to teach Malay to deaf students in formal education settings rather than act as an official language. However, it is not a language in itself, but a means of manually coding the Malay language. The use of KTBM supposedly makes it easier for teachers to teach the Malay language to deaf students. Sign languages which predate BIM in Malaysia are Penang Sign (PSL) and Selangor Sign (Kuala Lumpur Sign, SSL or KLSL). Additionally, every parent of deaf children uses unique created signs, called

home sign Home sign (or kitchen sign) is a gestural communication system, often invented spontaneously by a deaf child who lacks accessible linguistic input. Home sign systems often arise in families where a deaf child is raised by hearing parents and is is ...

s, for gestural communication. The use of such home signs among ''

peranakan The Peranakans () are an ethnic group defined by their genealogical descent from the first waves of Southern Chinese settlers to maritime Southeast Asia, known as Nanyang (), namely the British Colonial ruled ports in the Malay Peninsula, ...

'' or

ethnic Chinese The Chinese people or simply Chinese, are people or ethnic groups identified with China, usually through ethnicity, nationality, citizenship, or other affiliation. Chinese people are known as Zhongguoren () or as Huaren () by speakers of s ...

users of BIM may be responsible for the controversy over the supposed influence of

Chinese Sign Language Chinese Sign Language (abbreviated CSL or ZGS; ) is the official sign language of the People's Republic of China. It is unrelated to Taiwanese Sign Language and is known in the Republic of China as ''Wénfǎ Shǒuyǔ'' (). History The firs ...

s, which is not well documented and may merely be based on ethnic stereotyping. To further educate and promote the use of BIM, MFD implemented the BIM Sign Bank as the official source of reference for the sign language to the community, including students, teachers, parents, and the general users. In collaboration with Guidewire Gives Back, the BIM Sign Bank application, "BIM Sign Bank by MFD", was developed and launched in July 2021.

Notes

References

* https://web.archive.org/web/20110609015822/http://www.mfd.org.my/public/edu_eSign.asp?q=0&d=1 * https://web.archive.org/web/20110609015801/http://www.mfd.org.my/public/content.asp?l=EN&q=BOOK
Bahasa isyarat Malaysia, isyarat-isyarat ICT: Malaysian Sign Language ICT signs.
{{sign language navigation Languages of Malaysia American Sign Language family Sign languages of Malaysia