Japanese Sign Language
According to the Japanese Association for Sign Language Studies,[2] the estimated number of JSL users is around 60,000 in Japan.
The long-standing concept that deaf only means "people who cannot hear" emphasized a physical impairment as part of a biomedical disease model; however, this was gradually replaced by a slightly different paradigm.
In other words, the biomedical disability model began slowly to be displaced by a social-cultural or JSL paradigm.
[8] She attends the Sign Language Speech Contest for High School Students held every August, and Praising Mothers Raising Children with Hearing Impairments every December.
The use of sign language spread in Japan at that time, but it was used along with speaking, as in simultaneous communication with Taiou Shuwa.
Some parents also opt to use other tools, such as cochlear implants and hearing aids, for their Deaf children with sign language.
In regards to Deaf education, using sign was cited in studies as it prevents from acquiring written language for a long time.
The other claims that by establishing JSL, the language law makes it easy to discriminate against various sign users (deaf and mute people).
The highly acclaimed 2006 film Babel, which was directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu and nominated for multiple Academy Awards, also featured JSL as a significant element of the plot.
[20] The anime school drama film A Silent Voice (Koe no Katachi (聲の形) lit.
'The Shape of Voice'), released in 2016, features a prominent deaf JSL-speaking character, Shōko Nishimiya.
It was produced by Kyoto Animation, directed by Naoko Yamada, written by Reiko Yoshida, and featured character designs by Futoshi Nishiya.
A manga series titled A Sign of Affection (ゆびさきと恋々, Yubisaki to Renren) by the author Suu Morishita which features several JSL-speaking characters including the main deaf character Yuki Itose was adapted into anime series on January 6, 2024, by Ajia-do Animation Works.
JSL signs may be nouns, verbs, adjectives, or any other part of a sentence, including suffixes indicating tense, negation, and grammatical particles.
Signs consist not just of a manual gesture, but also mouthing (口話, kōwa, 'mouth talk') (pronouncing a standard Japanese word with or without making a sound).
Because JSL is strongly influenced by the complex Japanese writing system, it dedicates particular attention to the written language and includes elements specifically designed to express kanji in signs.
Some communities where deafness is relatively common and which have historically had little contact with mainland Japan have formed their own village sign languages: The increase in communication has led to an increasing influence of the Japanese sign over the village forms.
