Australian Aboriginal sign languages facts for kids

Many Aboriginal Australian groups have, or used to have, their own special sign language. These sign languages are like a silent version of their spoken languages. They were often used because of something called speech taboos.

Speech taboos meant that people couldn't speak aloud at certain times or to certain family members. For example, women might use sign language during a period of mourning after someone passed away. Men might use it during important initiation ceremonies. This is different from how deaf sign languages work, which are complete languages on their own, not just silent versions of spoken ones.

These sign languages were most common in places where speech taboos were very strict. This includes the central desert areas, especially among the Warlpiri and Warumungu peoples, and also in western Cape York Peninsula. You could also find complex sign systems in other parts of Australia, like the Gulf of Carpentaria and the Tiwi Islands.

Sadly, many of these unique sign languages are now gone. Only a few detailed records exist about them.

It's interesting to note how deaf people were included in these communities. Some reports say deaf people were fully part of cultural life. Others suggest that deaf people might not have learned the specific sign language used for speech taboos. Instead, they might have developed their own simple "home signs" to talk with their close family.

However, there is a special version of Auslan (Australian Sign Language) used by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Far North Queensland. This version is strongly influenced by the traditional sign languages and gestures from that area.

Scientists started studying these indigenous sign languages a long time ago. Early research was done by American linguist La Mont West, and later, in more detail, by English linguist Adam Kendon.

Australian Aboriginal Sign Languages

Many different Aboriginal groups developed their own unique sign languages. These languages varied in how complex they were. Some were very detailed, while others were simpler.

Here are some of the sign languages that have been studied:

• Arrernte Sign Language (highly developed)
• Dieri (Diyari) Sign Language (developed, now extinct)
• Djingili Sign Language (developed)
• Jaralde Sign Language (extinct)
• Kaititj (Kaytetye): Akitiri Sign Language (highly developed)
• Kalkutungu Sign Language (developed, now extinct)
• Manjiljarra Sign Language
• Mudbura Sign Language (developed)
• Ngada Sign Language
• Pitha Pitha Sign Language (developed, now extinct)
• Torres Strait Islander Sign Language
• Umpila Sign Language (developed)
• Warlmanpa Sign Language (highly developed)
• Warlpiri Sign Language (highly developed)
• Warluwara Sign Language (developed, now extinct)
• Warumungu (Warramunga) Sign Language (highly developed)
• Western Desert Sign Language (developed)
• Worora Kinship Sign Language
• Yir Yoront Sign Language (developed)
• Yolŋu (Murngin) Sign Language

Miriwoong Sign Language is also considered a developed or highly developed language.

As Aboriginal spoken and signed languages have become less common, and as more people move to cities like Cairns, a new Far North Queensland Indigenous Sign Language has started to grow. This new sign language is based on the traditional sign languages from the mainland and the Torres Strait Islands, like Umpila Sign Language.

See also

• Kalibamu