Paraguayan Sign Language, or Lengua de señas paraguaya (LSPY), is the
deaf sign language of
Paraguay. It is not intelligible with neighboring languages, nor with
American Sign Language, but speakers report that it has historical connections with
Uruguayan Sign Language. It developed outside the schools, and was only used in education in 2009.[2]
Paraguay is notably a bilingual country, where both
Spanish and
Guarani are spoken. The Language Law No. 4251 provides for
fingerspelling adequate to both languages.[3]
Bibliography
Lichtenberger, Wilfried. 1990. Habla Conmigo: primer libro de aprendizaje de la lengua para escolares principiantes con difficultades en el lenguaje. Asunción: Centro Editorial Paraguayo S.R.L.
Lichtenberger, Wilfried. 1990. Guia linguistica y didactica del Habla Conmigo: primer libro de aprendizaje de la lengua para escolares principiantes con difficultades en el lenguaje para el Profesor especial. Asunción.
^a Sign-language names reflect the region of origin. Natural sign languages are not related to the spoken language used in the same region. For example, French Sign Language originated in France, but is not related to French. Conversely,
ASL and
BSL both originated in English-speaking countries but are not related to each other; ASL however is related to
French Sign Language.
^b Denotes the number (if known) of languages within the family. No further information is given on these languages.