Endangered Sign Language

A sign language at risk of falling out of use, typically because the Deaf community that uses it is small, geographically isolated, or under pressure to adopt a dominant sign language. Most of the world's estimated 300+ sign languages are poorly documented, with African sign languages being particularly under-studied. Endangered sign languages face unique preservation challenges because they have no written form — they can only be documented through video, animation, or notation systems like HamNoSys. The loss of a sign language represents the loss of a unique linguistic and cultural heritage, and also impacts Deaf education when no standardized vocabulary exists for academic subjects like STEM fields. Digital platforms using crowdsourcing, video recording, and signing avatars are emerging tools for documenting these languages.