Cambodian Sign Language

Cambodian Sign Language
Native to	Cambodia
Region	Phnom Penh
Native speakers	7,500 (2015)[1]
Language family	Deaf-community sign language, connection to Thai Sign Language
Language codes
ISO 639-3	csx
Glottolog	camb1244
ELP	Cambodian Sign Language

Cambodian Sign Language (CBDSL) is an indigenous deaf sign language of Cambodia.

History

Little is known of the language situation prior to the first Cambodian school for the deaf being established in the capital of Phnom Penh in 1997. Although the language of education is American Sign Language, modified to follow Khmer word order, the Deaf community of Phnom Penh has developed their language with the support of the Maryknoll Deaf Development Programme.^[2]

Classification

CBDSL shares about 40% of basic vocabulary with Modern Thai Sign Language (MTSL). What intelligibility there is with American Sign Language, apart from iconic elements, is due to vocabulary that is shared among CBDSL, MTSL and ASL. No connection with other languages of neighboring countries has been noted.^[3]

References

1. Cambodian Sign Language at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
2. Cambodian Sign Language Production Team (2010) Cambodian Sign Language: English and English – Cambodian Sign Language Dictionary. Hong Kong: Centre for Sign Linguistics and Deaf Studies.
3. Woodward, Bradford, Sokchea & Samath (2015) Cambodian Sign Language. In Jepsen et al. (eds.) Sign Languages of the World: A Comparative Handbook, pp. 159–176. De Gruyter Mouton and Ishara Press.

Relevant publications

• Harrelson, Erin Moriarty (2019). "Deaf people with 'no language': Mobility and flexible accumulation in languaging practices of deaf people in Cambodia". Applied Linguistics Review. 10 (1): 55–72. doi:10.1515/applirev-2017-0081.
• Woodward, James; Bradford, Anastasia; Sokchea, Chea; Samath, Heang (2015). "Cambodian Sign Language". Sign Languages of the World. De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 159–176. doi:10.1515/9781614518174-011.