Rennellese Sign Language
| Rennellese Sign Language | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Solomon Islands |
| Extinct | ca. 2000 |
|
none (home sign)
|
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | rsi (proposed for retirement) |
| Glottolog | renn1236[1] |
Rennellese Sign Language is an extinct form of home sign documented from Rennell Island in 1974.[2] It was developed about 1915 by a deaf person named Kagobai and used by his hearing family and friends, but apparently died with him; he was the only deaf person on the island, and there never was an established, self-replicating community of signers. Accordingly, as of January 2016, its ISO 639-3 code has been proposed for retirement.[3]
Classification
Wittmann (1991)[4] proposed that RSL was a language isolate (a 'prototype' sign language), though one developed through stimulus diffusion from an existing sign language. However, his classification presupposes that it was a full language, which is almost certainly not the case, and Kuschel[2] (the only source of information about this communication system) cites no evidence to suggest that there was any contact with any sign language.
References
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- ↑ Wittmann, Henri (1991). "Classification linguistique des langues signées non vocalement." Revue québécoise de linguistique théorique et appliquée 10:1.215–88.[1]
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