Finland-Swedish Sign Language (FinSSL; , ) is a moribund

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 ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. It is now used mainly in private settings by older adults who attended the only Swedish school for the deaf in Finland (in

Porvoo Porvoo (; ; ) is a city in Finland. It is located on the south coast of the country, on the Gulf of Finland. Porvoo lies in the eastern part of the Uusimaa region. The population of Porvoo is approximately , while the Porvoo sub-region, sub-re ...

, ), which was established in the mid-19th century by Carl Oscar Malm but closed in 1993. However, it has recently been taught to some younger individuals. Some 90 persons had it as their native language within Finland in 2014 and it is spoken by around 300 people in total.

History

The first deaf school in Finland was founded in 1846 by Carl Oscar Malm, who was deaf himself. Since the closure of the deaf school in Borgå in 1993, the future of the language has been uncertain. Many families with deaf children have emigrated to Sweden because of the decision. The language is considered severely endangered according to UNESCO's criteria. Since 2015, Finland-Swedish and Finnish sign languages have been recognized as separate languages in Finnish legislation, as the new sign language act was adopted in the parliament. However, the scientific consensus has been since 2005 that the two sign languages are distinct.

Differences from Finnish Sign

Through contacts between Swedish deaf individuals and Finland-Swedish deaf individuals, the Finland-Swedish sign language has borrowed many words from Swedish sign language. Additionally, the visual phonology with facial expressions follows the sounds of the Swedish language.

History

Differences from Finnish Sign

References

Further reading