What is it about?
This article tells the story of how Czech Sign Language began. It looks at the first schools for deaf children in Prague and Vienna and asks how signs were created, shared and passed on. Using old books, dictionaries and archival documents, the article shows that Czech Sign Language did not simply copy another sign language. It also compares some signs recorded in old dictionaries, showing where early Czech, Austrian and French signs were similar or different. Czech Sign Language was shaped by deaf pupils, teachers, school practices, contact with Vienna and indirect influence from the French manual tradition. The article helps us understand Czech Sign Language as an independent language with its own history.
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Why is it important?
Very little is known about the early history of many sign languages, partly because they were not written down and were rarely described in detail. This article helps fill that gap for Czech Sign Language. It brings together historical sources that are difficult to access, including old pedagogical books, dictionaries and archival documents, and uses them to reconstruct how Czech Sign Language began to develop. The findings show that Czech Sign Language has its own history, shaped by deaf pupils, teachers, schools and international contacts. They also contribute to a broader understanding of how sign languages emerge and change over time.
Perspectives
I wrote this article because the history of Czech Sign Language has long remained almost invisible, even though it is an important part of the cultural and linguistic history of deaf people in the Czech lands. I wanted to show that historical sources, even when fragmentary and difficult to interpret, can still tell us a great deal about how a sign language developed. I also hope that this work will encourage more research on the history of sign languages in Central Europe.
Ph.D. Lenka Okrouhlíková
Univerzita Karlova
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The emergence of Czech Sign Language, Sign Language & Linguistics, November 2025, John Benjamins,
DOI: 10.1075/sll.24006.okr.
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