A Dutch Sign Language speaker, recorded in the Netherlands.
Dutch Sign Language (Dutch: Nederlandse Gebarentaal or NGT; Sign Language of the Netherlands or SLN) is the predominant sign language used by deaf people in the Netherlands.
The origins of Dutch Sign Language (NGT) are traceable to Old French Sign Language (VLSF), a term for the sign language that the community of about 200 deaf Parisians used amongst themselves in the mid-18th century. The abbot Charles-Michel de l'Épée wanted to give them religious education, and thus learnt their language, after which he made some adjustments of it himself. Around 1760, he opened a school for the deaf in Paris, the predecessor of the current Institut National de Jeunes Sourds de Paris. Educators from all over Europe came to this and later French schools for the deaf in order to adopt l'Épée's teaching method, and introduce it in their own countries. Therefore, this Old French Sign Language as modified by l'Épée spread across Europe, North America and other continents and became the basis of most modern sign languages, including Dutch Sign Language. The Walloon preacher Henri Daniel Guyot [nl], born in Blegny, studied in Franeker, and preached in the Walloon church of Groningen since 1777. In 1790, he founded the Henri Daniel Guyot Instituut [nl], the first Dutch school for the deaf, after the example of l'Épée, who he had visited in France.[3]
Dialect formation in early schools for the deaf
Education for the deaf-and-dumb in Amsterdam (1938). Pupil in front of the class feels the educator's larynx move when making sounds.
Before the standardisation of the sign language several regional variants were used in the Netherlands and the use of signs was discouraged in order to stimulate deaf people to acquire self-reliance. In the 1900–1980 period, the use of signs was prohibited in education as a consequence of the Milan Conference of 1880. Instead, the oralist method (also called the 'German method') was practiced: deaf people were instructed to learn to speak by imitating hearing people by lip reading, feeling how they used their larynx to make sounds that they were then tasked to imitate. Nevertheless, deaf people continued to use signs amongst themselves, leading to the rise of five dialects within and around the five schools for the deaf Groningen, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Voorburg and Sint-Michielsgestel.[4]
Koninklijke Ammanstichting (1853–2002), Koninklijke Auris Groep (2002–present)
Standardisation
As of 1995, more and more schools for the deaf in The Netherlands teach Signed Dutch (Nederlands met Gebaren). This uses the grammar of Dutch rather than NGT.
Recognition
In September 2019, D66, PvdA and CU proposed a bill of law initiative for official recognition of NGT. Since 13 October 2020 has been officially recognised.
Education
There are currently five schools for deaf children in the country, with the first being built at the end of the 18th century and the rest between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. While the first school used a manual method to teach the language, signing was originally prohibited in each of the latter schools and they instead tended to use an oral method of teaching. Today, because of cochlear implants, education is consistently leaning towards oralist methods.
^"Gebarentaal". Doof.nl (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 20 October 2020. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
"Did You Know Dutch Sign Language Is Vulnerable?" Endangered Languages. N.p., n.d. Web.
Kimmelman, V. (2014). Information structure in Russian Sign Language and Sign Language of the Netherlands (Unpublished master's thesis, 2014). Amsterdam Center for Language and Communication (ACLC).
Further reading
Bank, R., Crasborn, O., & van Hout, R. (2011). Variation in mouth actions with manual signs in Sign Language of the Netherlands (NGT). Sign Language & Linguistics, 14(2), 248–270.
Crasborn, O., van der Kooij, E., Ros, J., & de Hoop, H. (2009). Topic agreement in NGT (Sign Language of the Netherlands). Linguistic Review, 26(2/3), 355–370. doi:10.1515/tlir.2009.013
Crasborn, O., van der Kooij, E., Waters, D., Woll, B., & Mesch, J. (2008). Frequency distribution and spreading behavior of different types of mouth actions in three sign languages. Sign Language & Linguistics, 11(1), 45–67.
De Clerck, L., & van der Kooij, E. (2005). Modifiable and intensifier self in Dutch and Sign Language of the Netherlands. Linguistics In The Netherlands, 2261–72.
Sandler, W., & Lillo-Martin, D. (2006). Sign language and linguistic universals. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press.
Schermer, T. (2012). Sign Language Planning in the Netherlands between 1980 and 2010. Sign Language Studies, 12(4), 467–493.
Zwets, M. (2014). Locating the difference: A comparison between Dutch pointing gestures and pointing signs in Sign Language of the Netherlands (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Proefschrift Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor in het jaar.
External links
Online Video Dictionary in Dutch - choose the "Gebaren" menu and then click on "Gebarenwoordenboek".
^a Sign-language names reflect the region of origin. Natural sign languages are not related to the spoken language used in the same region. For example, French Sign Language originated in France, but is not related to French. Conversely, ASL and BSL both originated in English-speaking countries but are not related to each other; ASL however is related to French Sign Language.
^b Denotes the number (if known) of languages within the family. No further information is given on these languages.
Dutch Dutch Americans Dutch language Dutch people Pennsylvania Dutch Dutch dialects Dutch diaspora Dutch Waterline Dutch colonial empire Dutch Formosa Dutch Ceylon Fancy Dutch Anglo-Dutch Wars Middle Dutch Dutch East Indies Dutch Golden Age Dutch guilder Dutch phonology Dutch Canadians Dutch colonisation of the Guianas List of Dutch dictionaries Dutch garden Dutch colonization of the Americas Dutch Malabar Dutch cuisine Going Dutch Dutch-language literature Franco-Dutch War Dutch name Comparison of Afrikaans and Dutch Dutch oven Dutch Shepherd Dutch nationality law Dutch Draft Surinam (Dutch c…
olony) Evolution of the Dutch colonial empire Dutch orthography Dutch Wikipedia Khoikhoi–Dutch Wars Travancore–Dutch War Afro-Dutch people Dutch farmers' protests Dutch Gap Canal Dutch Gold Coast Dutch angle Dutch Republic Dutch Caribbean Dutch resistance Dutch Harbor Dutch–Portuguese War Dutch New Zealanders Dutch Colonial Revival architecture History of the Dutch language Dutch Bros. Coffee Archaic Dutch declension Roman-Dutch law Dutch-based creole languages Double Dutch Dutch Brazilians Von Dutch Old Dutch Dutch Reformed Church Dutch baby pancake Fourth Anglo-Dutch War Dutch Pakistani Dutch TT Dutch brick Double Dutch Bus Sino-Dutch conflicts Pennsylvania Dutch Country Chinese Dutch Third Anglo-Dutch War Dutch government-in-exile Dutch Brazil Dutch Golden Age painting Dutch Low Saxon Dutch Baroque architecture Dutch Cape Colony Dutch Korean Berbice Creole Dutch Dutch–Venezuelan crisis of 1908 Dutch cap Dutch Footballer of the Year Dutch Loango-Angola Dutch process cocoa Dutch East India Company Miami Dutch Lions FC Skepi Creole Dutch List of encyclopedias in Dutch Dutch comics List of English words of Dutch origin Dutch Language Union Dutch Australians Dutch art Holland
