Kenyan Sign Language (English: KSL, Swahili: LAK) is the language of the Deaf community in Kenya, used throughout the country by over half the country's estimated Deaf population of 600,000.
There are some dialect differences between Kisumu (western Kenya) and Mombasa (eastern Kenya).
As well as Kenyan Sign Language, a number of other languages have been used in Kenya by foreign educators: Belgian Sign Language (in one school only), British Sign Language (in one school only) and American Sign Language (Gallaudet world FAQ), KIE Signed English and even Korean Sign Language (Ethnologue report). It is probable that students in these schools use a form of KSL regardless.
A manual alphabet exists mainly from the American Sign Language manual alphabet. However the British manual alphabet was used in the early years.
Read more about Kenyan Sign Language: Status and Recognition, Somali Sign Language, Kenya Sign Language Interpreters Association, Dictionaries and Education, Sign Language Organizations, Sign Bilingual Schools
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