The legal recognition of signed languages differs widely. In some jurisdictions (countries, states, provinces or regions), a

signed 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 markers. Sig ...

is recognised as an official language; in others, it has a protected status in certain areas (such as education). Although a government may stipulate in its constitution (or laws) that a "signed language" is recognised, it may fail to specify signed language; several different signed languages may be commonly used. The most frequently used framework for the legal recognition of sign languages, adopted and further developed by the World Federation of the Deaf, was developed by Dr Maartje De Meulder. Extending legal recognition is a major concern of

Deaf culture Deaf culture is the set of social beliefs, behaviors, art, literary traditions, history, values, and shared institutions of communities that are influenced by deafness and which use sign languages as the main means of communication. When used as ...

. Symbolic recognition does not guarantee an improvement in the lives of signed-language users, and it has been argued that signed languages should be supported not merely as an accommodation for disabled people, but as a communication medium in language communities.

Status by country

Argentina

Argentine Sign Language Argentine Sign Language (, LSA) is used in Argentina. Deaf people attend separate schools, and use local sign language Sign languages (also known as signed languages) are languages that use the visual-manual modality to convey meaning, ins ...

was officially recognized by the government of Argentina in 2023.

Australia

Auslan Auslan (; an abbreviation of Australian Sign Language) is the sign language used by the majority of the Australian Deaf community. Auslan is related to British Sign Language (BSL) and New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL); the three have descended f ...

was recognised by the Australian government as a "community language other than English" and the preferred language of the Deaf community in 1987 and 1991 policy statements. Although the recognition does not ensure the provision of services in Auslan, its use in Deaf education and by Auslan-English interpreters is becoming more common.

Austria

Austrian Sign Language (Österreichische Gebärdensprache, or ÖGS) was recognised by the

Austrian Parliament The Austrian Parliament () is the bicameral federal legislature of Austria. It consists of two chambers – the National Council and the Federal Council. In specific cases, both houses convene as the Federal Assembly. The legislature meets i ...

in 2005. On 1 September 2005, the

Constitution of Austria The Federal Constitution of Austria () is the body of all constitutional law of the Republic of Austria on the federal level. It is split up over many different acts. Its centerpiece is the Federal Constitutional Law (''Bundes-Verfassungsgesetz' ...

was amended to include a new article: ''§8 (3) Die Österreichische Gebärdensprache ist als eigenständige Sprache anerkannt. Das Nähere bestimmen die Gesetze''. ("Austrian Sign Language is recognised as an independent language. The laws will determine the details.")

Belgium

French Community

Belgium's Parliament of the French Community recognised French Belgian Sign Language (LSFB) by

decree A decree is a law, legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state, judge, monarch, royal figure, or other relevant Authority, authorities, according to certain procedures. These procedures are usually defined by the constitution, Legislativ ...

in October 2003. The recognition entails: # cultural (symbolic) recognition # the formation of a commission to advise the Government of the French Community in all LSFB-related matters According to the ''Décret relatif à la reconnaissance de la langue des signes'' (Decree on the Recognition of Sign Language), "It concerns a symbolic recognition that goes hand-in-hand with a general measure, permitting every minister to take action in fields relative to his authority.""... il s'agit d'une reconnaissance cadre assortie d'une mesure d'exécution générale permettant à chaque ministre concerné de prendre les arrêtés d'application relevant de ses compétences ..."

Flemish Community

Flemish Sign Language Flemish Sign Language (, VGT) is a deaf sign language of Belgium. It is closely related to French Belgian Sign Language, but they are now generally recognized as distinct languages. VGT is estimated to include around 6,000 sign-language users ...

( or VGT) was recognised on 24 April 2006 by the

Flemish Parliament The Flemish Parliament (Dutch language, Dutch: , formerly called Flemish Council or ''Vlaamse Raad'') constitutes the legislature, legislative power in Flanders for matters which fall within the competence of Flanders, both as a geographic reg ...

. The recognition entails: # a cultural (symbolic) recognition # the formation of a commission to advise the Flemish government on all VGT-related matters # funding of VGT research and development

German-speaking Community

German Sign Language German Sign Language (, DGS) is the sign language of the deaf community in Germany, Luxembourg and in the German-speaking community of Belgium. It is unclear how many use German Sign Language as their main language; Gallaudet University estimate ...

was legally recognised in 2019 by the Parliament of the German-speaking Community.

Brazil

Although

Brazilian Sign Language Brazilian Sign Language ( ) is the sign language used by deaf communities of Brazil. It is commonly known in short as Libras (). Brazilian Sign Language (Libras) is a well-established language and legally recognized.Portuguese.24 April 2002 law

The language must be taught as a part of the speech-language pathology curriculum, and LIBRAS is an elective undergraduate subject.

Canada

Maritime Sign Language Maritime Sign Language (MSL; ) is a sign language used in Canada's Atlantic provinces. Maritime Sign Language is descended from British Sign Language through the convergence of deaf communities from the Northeastern United States and the Unit ...

(MSL), which derives from

British Sign Language British Sign Language (BSL) is a sign language used in the United Kingdom and is the first or preferred language among the Deafness in the United Kingdom, deaf community in the UK. While private correspondence from William Stokoe hinted at a f ...

, is moribund in Canada's

Maritime provinces The Maritimes, also called the Maritime provinces, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The Maritimes had a population of 1,899,324 in 2021, which makes up 5.1% of ...

. It is not officially recognised, and has been replaced by ASL in schools. The Halifax School for the Deaf, which operated from 1856 to June 1961, taught in MSL; after that, the Interprovincial School for the Education of the Deaf (later renamed the Atlantic Provinces Special Education Authority, or APSEA) in Amherst, Nova Scotia, took over until it closed in 1995. Inuit Sign Language (IUR), used in Canada's Arctic communities, was developed locally by families and communities for their deaf families and community members.

Federal

The Accessible Canada Act (ACA), passed on 21 June 2019, recognised "

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 ...

(ASL), Quebec Sign Language and Indigenous sign languages (...) as the primary languages for communication by deaf persons in Canada." The ACA only recognises ASL at the federal level.

Provincial and Territorial

*Alberta **The Legislative Assembly passed a motion recognising ASL as a language of instruction. *Manitoba **Manitoba has legally recognised ASL since 1988. *Ontario **The Ontario Education Act sanctions the use of ASL and Langue des signes québécoise as languages of instruction in all schools for deaf students in Ontario. *Saskatchewan **The Accessible Saskatchewan Act recognises ASL and indigenous sign languages states that "Sign languages are recognized as the primary languages for communication by deaf persons in Saskatchewan" *Nunavut **Nunavut considered giving Inuit IUR legal status. IUR made its debut in the Nunavut legislature in 2008.

China

Chinese Sign Language Chinese Sign Language (abbreviated CSL or ZGS; ) is the main sign language used in China. It is not related to the Taiwanese Sign Language used in Taiwan. Manually coded Mandarin is referred to as ''Wénfǎ Shǒuyǔ'' (). History The first ...

has no formal legal protection.

Chile

Chilean Sign Language ( or LSCh), was enacted as Law No. 20,422 in 2010 to ensure equal opportunity for disabled people. The law recognises sign language as the natural means of communication for the deaf community.

Czech Republic

Czech Sign Language gained legal recognition with the passage of the Sign Language Law, 155/1998 Sb ("Zákon o znakové řeči 155/1998 Sb").

Cyprus

Cypriot Sign Language was recognised as a language equivalent to Greek.

Denmark

Danish Sign Language gained legal recognition on 13 May 2014. The

Danish Parliament The Folketing ( , ), also known as the Parliament of Denmark or the Danish Parliament in English, is the unicameral national legislature (parliament) of the Kingdom of Denmark — Denmark proper together with the Faroe Islands and Greenland. E ...

established the Danish Sign Language Council "to devise principles and guidelines for the monitoring of the Danish sign language and offer advice and information on the Danish sign language."

European Union

The

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

unanimously approved a resolution about sign languages on 17 June 1988. The resolution suggests that all member states recognise their sign languages as official languages of the Deaf community. The EP issued another resolution in 1998, with essentially the same content as the 1988 resolution. A third resolution was passed in 2016. It was drafted by Helga Stevens, Europe's first deaf female MEP and president of the European Union of the Deaf from 2005 to 2007. The resolution, on sign language and professional sign-language interpreters, draws on Deaf studies and linguistics.

France

French Sign Language French Sign Language (, LSF) is the sign language of deaf and hard-of-hearing people in France and in French-speaking parts of Switzerland. According to ''Ethnologue'', it has 100,000 native signers. French Sign Language is related and part ...

has been recognised since 2005 under Act No. 2005-102.

Finland

Finnish Sign Language Finnish Sign Language () is the sign language most commonly used in Finland. There are 3,000 ''(2012 estimate)'' Finnish deaf who have Finnish Sign Language as a first language. As the Finnish system records users by their written language, no ...

was recognised in the

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

in August 1995:

Germany

was officially recognised in April 2002, from the perspective of it being a language of a disability group, but not from the perspective of it being a language of a cultural minority.

Berlin

Berlin has recognised German Sign Language in its equality legislation since 1999.

Greece

Greek Sign Language was recognised as an official language in 2000 and gained equal status with Modern Greek in 2017.

Iceland

Icelandic Sign Language was recognised by law in education in 2004: In June 2011, Icelandic Sign Language was officially recognized as a first language. In No. 61/2011 under Article 3 it states that "Icelandic sign language is the first language of those who have to rely on it for expression and communication, and of their children. The government authorities shall nurture and support it. All those who need to use sign language shall have the opportunity to learn and use Icelandic sign language as soon as their

language acquisition Language acquisition is the process by which humans acquire the capacity to perceive and comprehend language. In other words, it is how human beings gain the ability to be aware of language, to understand it, and to produce and use words and s ...

process begins, or from the time when

deafness Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is writte ...

hearing impairment Hearing loss is a partial or total inability to Hearing, hear. Hearing loss may be present at birth or acquired at any time afterwards. Hearing loss may occur in one or both ears. In children, hearing problems can affect the ability to Lang ...

or deaf-blindness is diagnosed. Their immediate family members shall have the same right."

Indian subcontinent

Although Indo-Pakistani Sign Language (IPSL) is officially unrecognised, it is used in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

, and

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

Ireland

The Irish Parliament passed the Irish Sign Language Act 2017 passed on 14 December 2017, and was signed into law by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Michael D. Higgins on 24 December of that year, giving

Irish Sign Language Irish Sign Language (ISL, ) is the sign language of Ireland, used primarily in the Republic of Ireland. It is also used in Northern Ireland, alongside British Sign Language (BSL). Irish Sign Language is more closely related to French Sign Langu ...

legal recognition. Before 2017, there was no automatic right for deaf people to have an ISL

interpreter Interpreting is translation from a spoken or signed language into another language, usually in real time to facilitate live communication. It is distinguished from the translation of a written text, which can be more deliberative and make use o ...

except for criminal-court proceedings. ISL recognition provides more legal rights and better access to

public service A public service or service of general (economic) interest is any service intended to address the needs of aggregate members of a community, whether provided directly by a public sector agency, via public financing available to private busin ...

s, including

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

healthcare Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...

media Media may refer to: Communication * Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Interactive media, media that is inter ...

and

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

ing.

Italy

Italian Sign Language Italian Sign Language (, LIS) is the visual language used by deaf people in Italy. Deep analysis of it began in the 1980s, along the lines of William Stokoe's research on American Sign Language in the 1960s. Until the beginning of the 21st cen ...

(''Lingua dei Segni Italiana'', LIS) was recognised on 19 May 2021. Although opponents of LIS recognition say that it is not a language because it lacks grammar, its grammar has been studied.

Japan

Japanese Sign Language was recognized as a language by the Basic Act for Persons with Disabilities, which was enacted in 2011.

Prefectural

In 2013, the first general sign language law was established in

Tottori Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Tottori Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, least populous prefecture of Japan at 538,525 (2023) and has a geographic area of . ...

. A proposal for a "Japanese Sign Language Act" that started in Hakusan City in Ishikawa Prefecture in 2013, reached unanimous support across the 1788 local legislatures.

Kenya

The 2010

Constitution of Kenya The Constitution of Kenya is the supreme law of the Republic of Kenya. There have been three significant versions of the constitution, with the most recent redraft being enabled in 2010. The constitution was presented to the Attorney General ...

recognises Kenyan Sign Language and, according to Article 7.3b, says that

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

would promote its development and use. KSL is given official status in Article 120 (1), which says that "the official languages of Parliament are Kiswahili, English and Kenyan Sign Language and the business of Parliament may be conducted in English, Kiswahili and Kenyan Sign Language."

Luxembourg

German Sign Language was recognised in 2018 as a language for which children have the right to access education in sign language in both secondary school and primary school, and family members were given the right to access up to 100 hours of sign language courses.

Malta

Maltese Sign Language (, or LSM) was officially recognised by the

Parliament of Malta The Parliament of Malta () is the constitutional legislative body in Malta, located in Valletta. The parliament is unicameral, with a democratically elected House of Representatives and the president of Malta. By constitutional law, all gover ...

in March 2016.

Mexico

Mexican Sign Language (''lengua de señas mexicana'', or LSM) was declared a "national language" in 2003, and it began use in public deaf education.

Deaf education Deaf education is the education of students with any degree of hearing loss or deafness. This may involve, but does not always, individually-planned, systematically-monitored teaching methods, adaptive materials, accessible settings, and other ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

had focused on oralism (speech and lipreading), and few schools conducted classes in LSM.

Nepal

Although Nepali Sign Language has not been recognised as the official language of

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

's deaf population, legislation is proposed which will bring Nepali law into line with the UN

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is an international human rights instrument, international human rights multilateral treaty, treaty of the United Nations intended to protect the rights and dignity of persons with Disabil ...

Netherlands

Dutch Sign Language Dutch Sign Language ( or NGT; Sign Language of the Netherlands or SLN) is the predominant sign language used by deaf people in the Netherlands. Although the same spoken Dutch language is used in the Netherlands and Flanders, the Dutch Sign Lan ...

(, or NGT) was recognised by law in 2020. The Christian Union party introduced a bill to recognise NGT in 2010, but it did not pass. In October 2016, MPs Roelof van Laar ( Labour Party) and Carla Dik-Faber (Christian Union) proposed a bill legally recognising NGT as an official language. MP Attje Kuiken (Labour Party) took over the bill in September 2019 (after Van Laar's departure), and MP Jessica van Eijs (

Democrats 66 Democrats 66 (; D66) is a social liberal and progressive political party in the Netherlands, which is positioned on the centre to centre-left of the political spectrum. It is a member of the Liberal International (LI) and the Alliance of Li ...

) joined Kuiken and Dik-Faber. At the end of the month, the Advisory Division of the

Council of State A council of state is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head ...

said that the text of the bill was still too vague and did not clarify which problems it intended to address and how it would do so; it asked if "the Deaf culture" mentioned in the bill also needed to be legally recognised and, if so, what that term entailed.

New Zealand

New Zealand Sign Language New Zealand Sign Language or NZSL () is the main language of the deaf community in New Zealand. It became an official language of New Zealand in April 2006 under the New Zealand Sign Language Act 2006. The purpose of the act was to create rights ...

became the country's third official language, joining English and Māori, when the New Zealand Sign Language Act 2006 was passed in the New Zealand Parliament on 6 April 2006.

North Macedonia

Macedonian Sign Language () is officially recognized as a "natural way of communication between people", and is regulated by a law which allows anyone in

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

to study it. The law also ensures the right to an interpreter upon request.Закон за употреба на знаковниот јазик, Службен весник на Република Македонија, број 105, 21 август 2009, Скопје
/ref>

Norway

Norwegian Sign Language is recognised by law for education. It is recognized as one of Norway's national languages.

Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinean Sign Language became the country's fourth official language in May 2015.

Philippines

Article 3 of Republic Act No. 11106 declared

Filipino Sign Language Filipino Sign Language, abbreviated as FSL (), or Philippine Sign Language, is a sign language originating in the Philippines. Like other sign languages, FSL is a unique language with its own grammar, syntax and morphology; it is not based on ...

the country's national sign language, specifying that it be recognized, supported and promoted as the medium of official communication in all transactions involving the deaf and the language of instruction in deaf education.

Peru

Peru officially recognized Peruvian Sign Language as the country's national sign language by law in 2010.

Portugal

Russia

Russian Sign Language () has had legal recognition since 2012. Since the federal Law on Protection of People with Disabilities passed and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was implemented, services in Russian Sign Language have been greatly expanded. A UN report in 2018 noted that, for example, between 40 and 240 hours of free interpretation are provided to each individual per year in Russia.

Slovakia

Slovak Sign Language was recognised in 1995 by law.

South Africa

Until 2023, South African Sign Language (SASL) was not specifically recognised as an

official language An official language is defined by the Cambridge English Dictionary as, "the language or one of the languages that is accepted by a country's government, is taught in schools, used in the courts of law, etc." Depending on the decree, establishmen ...

by the country's

. The phrase "sign language" is used generically. On 13 November 2009, the Constitutional Review Committee met to explore the possibility of upgrading SASL to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

's 12th official language. In May 2022 the 18th Constitutional Amendment Bill to make SASL an official language was published for public comment. In May 2023 the bill was voted on by parliament, and on 19 July 2023 it was signed into law as the Constitution Eighteenth Amendment Act of 2023.

Provincial

South African Sign Language is specifically recognised as a language that citizens should be able to access provincial services in 5 provinces through the following legislation: *

Northern Cape The Northern Cape ( ; ; ) is the largest and most sparsely populated Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley, South Africa, Kimberley. It includes ...

Use of Official Languages Act, 2013 *

Mpumalanga Mpumalanga () is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Nguni languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It shares bor ...

Provincial Languages Act, 2014 * North West Provincial Languages Act, 2015 *

Gauteng Gauteng ( , ; Sotho-Tswana languages, Sotho-Tswana for 'place of gold'; or ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts f ...

Provincial Languages Act, 2016, * Use of Free State Official Languages Act, 2017

South Korea

The Korean Sign Language Act (), which was adopted on 3 February 2016 and came into effect on 4 August 2016, established Korean Sign Language as an official language for the Deaf in South Korea equal in status with Korean. The law also stipulates that the national and local governments are required to provide translation services in Korean Sign Language to Deaf individuals who need them. After Korean Sign Language had been established, it became a requirement for there to be signed interpretations in court. KSL is also used during public events and social services programs. South Korea offers sign language courses for hearing. Special sign language instruction courses are available for parents with deaf children.

Spain

In 2007, the Spanish parliament, the

Cortes Generales The (; ) are the Bicameralism, bicameral legislative chambers of Spain, consisting of the Congress of Deputies (the lower house) and the Senate of Spain, Senate (the upper house). The Congress of Deputies meets in the Palacio de las Cortes, ...

, passed the Law 27/2007 (23 October 2007) on the recognition of sign languages in the country, including Spanish Sign Language.

Catalonia

In 2010, the

Parliament of Catalonia The Parliament of Catalonia (, ; ; ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Catalonia. The Parliament is currently made up of 135 members, known as Deputy (legislator), deput ...

passed Law 17/2010 on the Catalan Sign Language.

Valencia

Sri Lanka

According to a 23 September 2010 report, Sri Lankan Sign Language has been officially recognised.

Sweden

Sweden was one of the first countries in the world to officially recognize a signed language (Swedish Sign Language) as a language, and this has led to an expansion in availability of courses in school.

Switzerland

The Swiss Parliament approved a motion for the Government to bring forward legislation to recognise Swiss German Sign Language,

and

Taiwan

Taiwanese Sign Language was first recognised as a national language of Taiwan in 2019 by the National Languages Act in 2019.

Thailand

Thai Sign Language was recognised as "the national language of deaf people in Thailand" on 17 August 1999 in a resolution signed by the Permanent Secretary for Education on behalf of the

Royal Thai Government Government of Thailand, officially the Royal Thai Government (RTG; , , ), is the central executive authority of the Kingdom of Thailand. The government is led by the prime minister ( Paetongtarn Shinawatra since 14 August 2024) who selects al ...

which affirmed the rights of deaf people to learn the language at home and in schools. According to a 13 October 1999 report by Charles Reilly, "specific actions will be taken by the government, including hiring deaf people as teachers and instructors of sign language in deaf schools, and providing interpreters for deaf people in higher education."

Turkey

Turkish Sign Language is used by the country's deaf community. On 1 July 2005, the

Grand National Assembly of Turkey The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( ), usually referred to simply as the GNAT or TBMM, also referred to as , in Turkish, is the Unicameralism, unicameral Turkey, Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by ...

enacted an updated Disability Law (No. 5378) which referred to sign language. According to Law No. 15, sign language is to be used in deaf education; Law No. 30 stipulates that sign language interpretation be provided to deaf people. There has been discussion in Parliament about developing a standardised sign language.

Uganda

On 8 October 1995,

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

adopted a new constitution promoting the development of a sign language for the deaf. Ugandan Sign Language was not specified. Twenty-five-year-old Alex Ndeezi, executive director of the Uganda National Association of the Deaf from 2000 to 2014, was elected to

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

in 1996.

United Kingdom

(BSL) achieved non-legislative recognition in 2003 by the UK government BSL was recognised by the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...

as a language of England, Scotland, and Wales in 2022. On 28 April 2022, the British Sign Language Act 2022 was given royal assent, giving BSL a similar status to Welsh in Wales, Scottish Gaelic in Scotland, and created a duty for the UK government, public bodies and English local authorities to promote the use of BSL, but it did not extend this obligation to devolved matters for Scotland, and Wales.

Wales

BSL achieved non-legislative recognition in 2004 by the Welsh government. BSL may be recognised by the

Senedd The Senedd ( ; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, Its role is to scrutinise the Welsh Government and legislate on devolve ...

as a language of Wales, with the passage of Mark Isherwood's British Sign Language (Wales) Bill, giving BSL a similar status to Welsh in Wales, and would create a duty for the Welsh government, public bodies to promote the use of BSL.

Scotland

BSL achieved non-legislative recognition in 2011 by the Scottish government BSL was recognised by the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of Edinburgh, and is frequently referred to by the metonym 'Holyrood'. ...

as a language of Scotland in 2015. On 22 October 2015, the British Sign Language (Scotland) Act 2015 was given royal assent, giving BSL a similar status Scottish Gaelic in Scotland, and created a duty for the Scottish government, public bodies and local authorities to promote the use of BSL.

Northern Ireland

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

and

were given non-legislative recognition by the

Northern Ireland Office The Northern Ireland Office (NIO; , Ulster-Scots: ''Norlin Airlann Oaffis'') is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for handling Northern Ireland affairs. The NIO is led by the Secretary of S ...

in 2004. In 2024, the Minister for Communities, "set out proposals to increase the number of interpreters and, ultimately, bring forward a Sign Language Bill". The bill was introduced in February 2025 as the Sign Language Bill. Unlike England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland has two sign languages – BSL and ISL, so the legislation recognises both ISL and BSL.

Mayors

=Greater London

= In 2023, the

Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom. The current ...

, Sadiq Khan, signed the

British Deaf Association The British Deaf Association (BDA) is a deaf-led British charity that campaigns and advocates for deafness, deaf people who use British Sign Language. History It was preceded by the National Association for the Deaf and Dumb (NADD), which had be ...

’s Charter for British Sign Language "to address discrimination, empower deaf communities and improve relationships between public sector organisations and Deaf communities".

=Greater Manchester

= In 2024, as a candidate for

Mayor of Greater Manchester The mayor of Greater Manchester is the directly elected metro mayor, mayor of Greater Manchester, responsible for strategic governance in the region that includes health, transport, housing, strategic planning, waste management, policing, the G ...

Andy Burnham Andrew Murray Burnham (born 7 January 1970) is a British politician who has served as Mayor of Greater Manchester since 2017 Greater Manchester mayoral election, 2017. He served in Gordon Brown's Brown ministry, Cabinet as Chief Secretary to th ...

pledged to require that there is BSL sign on the live stream of all meetings of the

Greater Manchester Combined Authority The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) is a combined authority for Greater Manchester, England. It was established on 1 April 2011 and consists of 11 members: 10 indirectly elected members, each a directly elected councillor from one ...

United States

The

federal government A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

does not recognize any language, spoken or signed, as an official language. However, several U.S. universities accept

credit to meet their foreign-language requirements. In some states, the study of American Sign Language is eligible for foreign language credit at the high school level. In 2015, California became the first US state to legislate language development milestone guidance pertaining to children whose first language is a signed language.

Uruguay

Although

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

has no "official" languages, Uruguayan Sign Language (, or LSU), was legally recognised as the language of deaf persons on 10 July 2001. In the 2008 law 18.437 (Ley General de Educación, 12 December 2008), LSU is considered (with Uruguayan Spanish and Uruguayan Portuguese) a mother tongue of Uruguayan citizens. In policy documents of the Comisión de Políticas Lingüísticas en la Educación Pública (Public Education Language Policy Commission, part of the Administración Nacional de Educación Pública or ANEP), it is proposed that LSU be the principal language of deaf education.

Venezuela

Venezuelan Sign Language was recognised in the country's

on 12 November 1999.

Zimbabwe

The

Zimbabwean sign languages Several Zimbabwean sign languages developed independently among deaf students in different Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country ...

, grouped as "sign language", are recognised in the 2013 Constitution of Zimbabwe as one of the sixteen "officially recognised languages of Zimbabwe"."The following languages, namely Chewa, Chibarwe, English, Kalanga, Koisan, Nambya, Ndau, Ndebele, Shangani, Shona, sign language, Sotho, Tonga, Tswana, Venda and Xhosa, are the officially recognised languages of Zimbabwe."
Chapter 1, section 6, Constitution of Zimbabwe (final draft)
).

References

Sources

Report on the status of Sign Languages in Europe
(PDF link)

External links

''Décret relatif à la reconnaissance de la langue des signes'' (Belgian French Community decree recognising sign language)''Decreet houdende de erkenning van de Vlaamse Gebarentaal'' (Decree on the Recognition of Flemish Sign Language)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Legal Recognition of Sign Languages Sign language Language policy Language legislation