Abstract
Emerging sign languages offer linguists an opportunity to observe language emergence in real time, far beyond the capabilities of spoken language studies. Sign languages can emerge in different social circumstances—some in larger heterogeneous communities, while others in smaller and more homogeneous communities. Often, examples of the latter, such as Ban Khor Sign Language (in Thailand), Al Sayyid Bedouin Sign Language (in Israel), and Mardin Sign Language (in Turkey), arise in communities with a high incidence of hereditary deafness. Traditionally, these communities were in limited contact with the wider deaf community in the region, and so the local sign language remained relatively uninfluenced by the surrounding signed language(s). Yet, in recent years, changes in education, mobility, and social communication patterns have resulted in increased interaction between sign languages. Rather than undergoing language emergence, these sign languages are now facing a state of “mergence” with the majority sign language used by the wider deaf community. This study focuses on the language contact situation between two sign languages in Kufr Qassem, Israel. In the current situation, third-generation deaf signers in Kufr Qassem are exposed to the local sign language, Kufr Qassem Sign Language (KQSL), and the dominant sign language of the wider Israeli deaf community, Israeli Sign Language (ISL), both of which emerged around 90 years ago. In the current study, we analyzed the signing of twelve deaf sign-bilinguals from Kufr Qassem whilst they engaged in a semi-spontaneous task in three language conditions: (1) with another bilingual signer, (2) with a monolingual KQSL signer, and (3) with a monolingual ISL signer. The results demonstrate that KQSL-ISL sign-bilinguals show a preference for ISL in all conditions, even when paired with a monolingual KQSL signer. We conclude that the degree of language shift in Kufr Qassem is considerable. KQSL may be endangered due to the risk of social and linguistic mergence of the KQSL community with the ISL community in the near future.
Highlights
Introduction iationsEmerging sign languages have received increased attention in the field of linguistics in recent decades
We look at the language contact situation taking place in Kufr Qassem, Israel, between Kufr Qassem2 Sign Language (KQSL) and Israeli Sign Language (ISL)—two emerging sign languages with different social characteristics
We examine language shift by looking at the distribution of ISL and Kufr Qassem Sign Language (KQSL) lexical signs in the sign language repertoires of young bilinguals who reside in Kufr
Summary
Introduction iationsEmerging sign languages have received increased attention in the field of linguistics in recent decades (see Snoddon and De Meulder 2020). From an outsider’s perspective, some of these languages appear to be thriving in a regionally bound community in which deaf and hearing individuals sign. Emerging sign languages are defined in the literature as “new” sign languages, which emerge when deaf people with no shared means of communication form a community and they have the necessity to communicate using a visual language (Meir et al 2010). Users have at their disposal the gestural repertoires of the wider community to build on Often include signers from the first generation of the language. This gives linguists the chance to track emergence in “real time” by examining how the language changes from its first generation to the current one. Often, emerging sign languages are contrasted with established ones, which, young, are more difficult to trace back
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