Bolivian Sign Language (aka: Lengua de Señas Bolivianas, LSB) is found in Bolivia. Bolivia is a predominantly Spanish-speaking country in South America with a population of 12 million.
The Bolivian Sign Language sign for 🇧🇴 Bolivia is that of a llama turning its head 🦙.
History
Missionaries introduced ASL to Bolivia in 1973. Bolivian Sign Language began from this and incorporates local indigenous signs.
Population
Estimates of the number of Bolivian Sign Language users vary greatly. There are about a dozen Bolivian Sign Language schools and organizations, often found in big cities. While Bolivian Sign Language was estimated to have a population 350-400 users in 1988 (E. Powlison), the Bolivian Federation for the Deaf (FEBOS) was able to mobilize approximately 1000 on the World Day of the Deaf to protest Deaf marginalization in 2008 (El Mundo 2008). Dr. Jay Charles Soper (SIL International Americas Area Sign Language Initiative Director) estimated approximately 23,000 deaf sign language users in Bolivia (Soper, 2003). Meanwhile, the total deaf Bolivians is estimated at 46,800 (Gordon 2005:222).
Sign Language Family
French Sign > American Sign > Bolivian Sign Language
Learning Materials
- A Taste - Get a taste of what Bolivian Sign Language looks like in this 1 minute video.
- Free Online Course – A free online course on Bolivian Sign Language is available via the Universidad Católica Boliviana (UCB). It has 20 classes.
- Dictionary – Published by the Ministry of Education of Bolivia in 2010 with 500 Bolivian Signs.
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Additional Resources:
- Primero Libro de Señas en Bolivia (First Book of Signs in Bolivia) published by the Bolivian Ministry of Education and Culture (1992)
Writing and Reading Bolivian Sign Language
Many Sign Languages do not have a widely recognized script. Instead signs are often glossed in the local phonetic language (for Bolivian Sign Language, this would be Spanish words). However, there does exist multiple scripts for Sign Languages such as Sutton SignWriting, ASLWrite, and Stokoe Notation.
At Camp Lingo, we use the Sutton SignWriting script for Bolivian Sign Language translations.
You can try a Bolivian Sign Language translator (Traductor de Lengua de Señas Boliviana) at CampLingo.com or on the ‘Translate & Learn’ app.
This machine translator is highly experimental. We highly encourage you to support your local Deaf community and always rely first and foremost on official Deaf teachers and interpreters.
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varieties_of_American_Sign_Language
- https://www.endangeredlanguages.com/lang/7002
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHzmq4KsMms
- https://sobretodopersonas.ucb.edu.bo/curso-gratuito-de-lengua-de-senas-boliviana/
- https://biblioteca.minedu.gob.bo/biblio/book/58434
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