Investigation of an endangered village sign language in India: a pilot study

Sibaji Panda, University of Central Lancashire

Project Details:

Pilot Project Grant. Duration: 2001-2030. £6,108

Project Summary:

The pilot study investigates an endangered sign language in a southern Indian village in Karnataka. 250 people in the village are deaf out of a population of 14,000. The sign language used in the village is different from the Indian Sign Language (ISL) used in urban areas. The project will produce a corpus of digital video with time-aligned transcriptions and translations, a documentation of the sociolinguistic setting, and pedagogical materials. The project also investigates approaches to the complex research ethics of documenting this particular situation, including ways of supporting the sign language users inside and outside the village community.