Lithuanian Sign Language

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Lithuanian Sign Language LtSL
Signed in:	Lithuanian
Region:	Limited to Lithuania
Total signers:	5,000
Language family:	influenced by Russian Sign Language
Language codes
ISO 639-1:	none
ISO 639-2:	`sgn-LT`
ISO 639-3:	`lls`
sign language — list of sign languages — legal recognition

Lithuanian Sign Language (LtSL) is used in Lithuania by approximately 5,000 deaf persons, also some hard of hearing and hearing persons. Very little is known about its history until 1945. From 1945 to 1990 it was used close together with Russian Sign Language and they became very similar. Only Russian mouthing of some signs used in LtSL can tell that the sign was borrowed from Russian Sign Language. When Lithuania became independent, its contacts with Russian Sign Language were almost cut off, and now it's developing as an independent language, with some influence from international signs.

Linguistic research of LtSL started in 1996, when it was recognized as the native language of the Deaf. Since then, a Lithuanian Sign Language Dictionary (based on traditional word to sign principle) was published in 5 volumes (including about 3000 signs), also some thematic vocabularies and bilingual texts in LtSL and Lithuanian (including "Adam's book"). Now work is being done on an LtSL database and sign language teaching materials for parents of the Deaf, teachers of deaf students and sign language interpreters.