Icelandic Sign Language () is the sign language of the deaf community in Iceland. It is based on Danish Sign Language; until 1910, deaf Icelandic people were sent to school in Denmark, but the languages have diverged since then. It is officially recognized by the state and regulated by a national committee.
Icelandic Sign Language is distinct from spoken Icelandic; in 1999, the Icelandic Ministry of Education stated that in the Icelandic basic curriculum, Icelandic Sign Language is the first language of deaf people, while spoken Icelandic is a second language. Therefore, deaf Icelanders should learn Icelandic Sign Language as their first language and Icelandic as their second language.
A lexical comparison of signs from Icelandic Sign Language with their counterparts in Danish Sign Language was undertaken to try to determine the degree of current lexical similarity. It was found that whilst the two sign languages are certainly related, 37% of signs analysed were completely different in structure and a further 16%, whilst similar, still contrasted in one of the four parameters of hand-configuration, location, movement or orientation.
Geographic Distribution
Icelandic sign language is used as a first language of deaf people in Iceland. The majority of the speakers live in Reykjavík and the surrounding areas.
Article 5 of the Act also ensures that the government must promote all aspects of education and awareness in regards to Icelandic Sign Language. In 1874, Páll outlined his objectives for teaching his students in a newspaper article. He wanted his students to be able to express their thoughts and be understood through writing, finger language and pointing, and did not care about speaking Icelandic or lip reading.
In 1922, the Danish mouth-hand system was adopted as the new teaching method, with the objective of having the students speak and understand speech augmented with finger spelling and signs.
Linguistics
Grammar
Icelandic Sign Language has somewhat variable word order depending on the verb used. The basic word order is SVO; however, with agreement verbs SOV and OSV word order is also accepted.
Icelandic Sign Language has minimal pairs in all five of the sign parameters.