Alipur Sign Language

Alipur Sign Language (Kannada: ಅಲಿಪುರ ಸಂಕೇತ ಭಾಷೆ, romanized: Alipura Saṅkēta Bhāṣe) is a village sign language of India. It is spoken in the town of Alipur, Karnataka, a Shia Muslim enclave with a high degree of congenital deafness. There are between 150 and 250 deaf people in Alipur, and there are approximately 10,000 hearing people speaking the language on a population of 26,000 (in 2015). The language has no official status and deaf children receive no formal education. This fact plus the increasing influence of the Indian Sign Language threaten the survival of Alipur Sign Language (or APSL). Sibaji Panda was the first person to officially document the language in 2012.

During his study, Panda found out that the proportion of deaf population in Alipur was of approximately 0.75%, against 0.41% on national average (data from the 2011 census).

The deaf community of Alipur helped Panda in his researches, particularly Mr. Fazil Raza, a 53 year old former gram panchayat chief, who helped set up the Alipur Unity Society for the Deaf. Mr. Fazil Raza helped with translation from English to the sign language, conducted survey with the help of other members of the community, and served as an informator for the documentation of the language.

From Wikipedia · Alipur Sign Language · CC BY-SA 4.0