The origin of HKSL can be traced back to around 1949, when a group of around 20 deaf people moved from Shanghai and Nanjing to Hong Kong and began tutoring the local deaf community to facilitate greater social cohesion and standardisation of their sign language(s). Chinese sign language was the initial medium of instruction, leading to the circulation of CSL among the local deaf community, who adapted the language by developing their own signs with new ideas, concepts or things they encounter in their lives. This led to a further development of the vocabulary and intricacies of Hong Kong Sign Language as separate from CSL.
For a number of years, HKSL continued to develop with little external influence, as international travel from Hong Kong and thus interaction between other deaf communities was not always feasible.
With more and more Hong Kong deaf people travelling abroad in recent decades for a variety of reasons, borrowings into HKSL have become more common. The American manual alphabet was borrowed and adopted (with some adaptations) in this way, as were many other signs.[3]
Grammar and vocabulary
There are 40 to 50 basic hand-shapes in Hong Kong sign language. Signs are generally derived from conceptual representation (abstract, such as the signs for 'father' and 'mother'), visual representation (direct, such as the signs for 'to separate' and 'thick-skinned') or representation of the Chinese character (such as with the signs for 'to introduce' and 'the Chinese language') or - rarely - the English term (such as with the sign for 'toilet/WC'). Question words are generally phrase or sentence-final, while the basic word order is S-O-V. It is worth noting that the subject and object may be omitted in conversation between two people where they are clear from context.[4]
Sometimes, signers may speak or mouth the word while signing. For example, when signing the name of a place like Central, the signer may mouth the Cantonese name for "Central" while signing. This practice may be related to the signers' past training in speech and lip-reading, but sometimes mouthing bears no relation to the spoken language, and is an inherent part of the sign.
HKSL is interesting among sign languages in that it is entirely ambidextrous. [citation needed]
^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.
Hong Høng Hong (business) Sport in Hong Kong Culture of Hong Kong Environment of Hong Kong Hong Kong independence Hong Kong cuisine Conservation in Hong Kong Hong Kong Stadium Hong Kong Garrison Hong Kong Hong Gildong jeon Hong Kong Telecom Germany–Hong Kong relations Anthem of Hong Kong Cinema of Hong Kong British Hong Kong Hong Kong Observatory Geography of Hong Kong Hong Kong–United States relations Transport in Hong Kong South Asians in Hong Kong History of Hong Kong Handover of Hong Kong Law of Hong Kong Demographics of Hong Kong Hong Kong Island Hong Kong identity card Architecture …
of Hong Kong Football in Hong Kong Hong Kong Ferry Governor of Hong Kong Central, Hong Kong Battle of Hong Kong Youth in Hong Kong Islam in Hong Kong Hong Kong resident France–Hong Kong relations Localism in Hong Kong Bank of China (Hong Kong) Hong Jin Hong Kong–Mainland China conflict Outline of Hong Kong Politics of Hong Kong Cricket Hong Kong, China Hồng Lĩnh Foreign relations of Hong Kong Australia–Hong Kong relations Standard Chartered Hong Kong Flag of Hong Kong Emblem of Hong Kong Economy of Hong Kong 1980s in Hong Kong Tourism in Hong Kong Education in Hong Kong Chief Executive of Hong Kong Hong Kong national football team LGBT rights in Hong Kong Communications in Hong Kong Consular missions in Hong Kong Japanese occupation of Hong Kong Americans in Hong Kong Immigration Department (Hong Kong) Scout Association of Hong Kong Declared monuments of Hong Kong Coins of the Hong Kong dollar Aberdeen, Hong Kong Hong Kong dollar Hong Kong Tramways James Hong Flag of Hong Kong (1871–1997) Jews in Hong Kong Women in Hong Kong Hong Gyeong-rae Media of Hong Kong The Cenotaph, Hong Kong Hong Kong returnee Employment in Hong Kong Secretary for Justice (Hong Kong) Diocese of H