2023 Volume 32 Issue 2 Pages 1-12
This paper assesses the definitions of the terms “deaf” and “Japanese sign language” based on the structure of the language and culture specific to deaf persons. The classification of widely used signs is reexamined from a sociolinguistic perspective. The discussion in this paper suggests the following: (1) The definitions inevitably vary because sign language groups are created and grow under the influence of “hearing impairment.” (2) The term “Japanese sign language” was proposed as a rhetorical counterpart to manually coded Japanese rather than “Japanese (spoken) language.” This positions the right pole of the linguistic continuum as manually coded Japanese. (3) The “There are two sign languages” and “There is only one sign language” arguments are based on political backgrounds. Based on these results, we propose that explaining the language use of signs from a sociolinguistic perspective entails the exclusion of artificial languages and sign language learners who can hear from the scope of the study. Furthermore, the classification of signs should be assessed among speakers with hearing impairment whose primary means of communication is sign language.
