Longitudinal Documentation of Sign Language Acquisition in a Deaf Village in Bali

Connie de Vos, International Institute for Sign Languages and Deaf Studies (iSLanDS)

Project Details:

Small Grant. Duration: 2011-2012. £8,632

Project Summary:

Kata Kolok is a sign language indigenous to a Balinese village which has a high incidence of hereditary deafness. There are currently 48 deaf signers, and 1,200 hearing community members use Kata kolok with varying degrees of proficiency. The language is threatened by the increasing number of sign-bilinguals using Indonesian Sign Language in addition to Kata Kolok, as well as recent changes in marital patterns. This project presents a unique effort to document the acquisition of a sign language in a deaf village over an extensive period of time.