Linguistic and Human Rights, Constitutional Recognitions of

Sign languages across the world have been researched and acknowledged as full-fledged languages in academia since the 1980s. However, the legal recognition of sign languages has gained momentum only after 1995 and is still an ongoing process in many countries. Because of the complex nature of the Deaf community’s position within society, which places them at the intersection of disability, language, and minority, legal recognition of sign language is not a straightforward issue. The legal documents in which sign languages are mentioned and recognized are therefore diverse: They range from constitutions to disability-specific legislation, separate sign language acts and educational policies, criminal procedure law, and media regulations, among others. Some pieces of legislation make the national sign language an official language of the country, next ...