Longitudinal Documentation of Sign Language Acquisition in a Deaf Village in Bali

The Endangered Language Documentation Programme (ELDP) provides grants worldwide to for the linguistic documentation of endangered language and knowledge. Grantees create multimedia collection of endangered languages. These collections are preserved and made freely available through the Endangered Languages Archive (ELAR) housed at the library of SOAS University of London.

Kata Kolok is a sign language indigenous to a Balinese village which has a high incidence of hereditary deafness. There are currently 48 deaf signers, and 1,200 hearing community members use Kata kolok with varying degrees of proficiency. The language is threatened by the increasing number of sign-bilinguals using Indonesian Sign Language in addition to Kata Kolok, as well as recent changes in marital patterns. This project presents a unique effort to document the acquisition of a sign language in a deaf village over an extensive period of time. Primary investigator: Connie de Vos

Project Details


Location: Bali, Bali, Bali, Cameroon, India, Middle Africa, Southern Asia, Africa, Asia Organiser(s): Endangered Languages Documentation Programme Project partner(s): International Institute for Sign Languages and Deaf Studies (iSLanDS) Funder(s): Arcadia Funding received: £8,632.00 Commencement Date: 01/2007
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