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Plains Sign Language

Plains Indian Sign Language
Plains Sign Talk, Hand Talk, First Nation Sign Language
Native to Canada, Mexico, USA
Region Central Canada and United States including the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains region; northern Mexico
Ethnicity Various North American Indigenous Peoples
Native speakers
Unknown (no date)
75 users total (no date)
Isolate, formerly a trade pidgin
Dialects
  • Navajo Sign Language
  • Blackfoot Sign Language
  • Cree Sign Language
  • Ojibwa Sign Language
none
Official status
Official language in
none
Recognised minority
language in
Recognised as official in courts, education and legislative assembly of Ontario.
Language codes
ISO 639-3
Glottolog plai1235
US & Canada sign-language map (excl. ASL and LSQ).png
  The attested historical range of Plains Sign Talk among other sign languages in the US and Canada (excl. ASL and LSQ).
Navajo Sign Language
Native to USA
Ethnicity Navajo
Native speakers
unknown (1992)
(deaf and hearing members)
Plains Sign Talk
  • Navajo Sign Language
Language codes
ISO 639-3 None (mis)
Glottolog None
Blackfoot Sign Language
Native to Canada, USA
Ethnicity Blackfoot
Native speakers
unknown (2015)
(deaf and hearing members)
Plains Sign Talk
  • Blackfoot Sign Language
Language codes
ISO 639-3 None (mis)
Glottolog None
Cree Sign Language
Native to Canada, USA
Ethnicity Cree
Native speakers
unknown (2015)
(deaf and hearing members)
Plains Sign Talk
  • Cree Sign Language
Language codes
ISO 639-3 None (mis)
Glottolog None
Ojibwa Sign Language
Native to Canada, USA
Ethnicity Ojibwe
Native speakers
unknown (2015)
(deaf and hearing members)
Plains Sign Talk
  • Ojibwa Sign Language
Language codes
ISO 639-3 None (mis)
Glottolog None

Plains Indian Sign Language (PISL), also known as Plains Sign Talk,Plains Sign Language and First Nation Sign Language, is a trade language (or international auxiliary language), formerly trade pidgin, that was once the lingua franca across central Canada, central and western United States and northern Mexico, used among the various Plains Nations. It was also used for story-telling, oratory, various ceremonies, and by deaf people for ordinary daily use. It is falsely believed to be a manually coded language or languages, however there is not substantive evidence establishing a connection between any spoken language and Plains Sign Talk.

The name 'Plains Sign Talk' is preferred in Canada, with 'Indian' being considered pejorative by many. Hence, publications and reports on the language vary in naming conventions according to origin.

Plains Sign Talk's antecedents, if any, are unknown, due to lack of written records. But, the earliest records of contact between Europeans and Indigenous peoples of the Gulf Coast region in what is now Texas and northern Mexico note a fully formed sign language already in use by the time of the Europeans' arrival there. These records include the accounts of Cabeza de Vaca in 1527 and Coronado in 1541.

As a result of several factors, including the massive depopulation and the Americanization of Indigenous North Americans, the number of Plains Sign Talk speakers declined from European arrival onward. In 1885, it was estimated that there were over 110,000 "sign-talking Indians", including Blackfoot, Cheyenne, Sioux, Kiowa and Arapaho. By the 1960s, there remained a "very small percentage of this number". There are few Plains Sign Talk speakers today in the 21st century.


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Wikipedia

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