Hausa Sign Language

[2] There is no information on the origin of Hausa Sign Language, but it is believed that deaf people have always used HSL for communication.

HSL is constantly enriched whenever deaf people meet, whether informally or in schools, associations or other groups.

Each sign is composed of a number of components that are called the manual parameters, i.e. handshape, orientation, movement, and location.

Body posture and movement as well as facial expressions and other non-manual parameters play a role as well.

They may be inherent parts of signs but may also be used to express grammatical features, e.g. question markers and emphasis.