Information from: “Transmission of sign languages in Northern Europe” (19-45) . Penny Boyes Braem and Christian Rathmann (2010) , Diane Brentari · Cambridge University Press
SPEAKER NUMBER TRENDS
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TRANSMISSION
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- MORE ON VITALITY
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"In 2006, approximately 80 percent of deaf infants were implanted, many of them at as early as thirteen months of age and the medical staff usually does not encourage parents to use sign language with their deaf child.... The number of pupils in the day and residential schools for the Deaf has been steadily decreasing over the past decade, as the large majority of Swiss deaf children who have received a cochlear implant are integrated into classes with hearing children, usually without signing support."
"Many signers in these more recent deaf generations have learned sign language as adolescents from the adult Deaf community."
- GOVERNMENT SUPPORT
- Recognized, but not official; government resources in sign languages; several government acts of support for sign languages; subsidies for sign language classes; inter-cantonal training of sign language teachers and of sign language interpreters
- INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT
- Swiss Federation of the Deaf (SGB-FSS), television program
- OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY
- LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS
"It is not unusual for a Swiss Deaf person to know more than one of the Swiss sign languages through personal contacts as well as national associations (such as the Swiss Deaf Sports Association), as well as one or more foreign sign languages (especially German, French, Italian and American sign languages)."
"There are currently more materials available for DSGS than for the other Swiss languages, although the newly nationalized Swiss Deaf Association is currently making plans for producing such products for LSF-SR and LIS-SI as well."
- Scripts (Writing system)
- Sign Writing Notation
- More on Orthography
Resources available on the web