Malaysian Sign Language

Malaysian Sign Language
Bahasa Isyarat Malaysia, BIM
Signed in	Malaysia
Native signers	24,000
Language family	French Sign American Sign Malaysian Sign Language
Language codes
ISO 639-3	xml

Malaysian Sign Language (Malay: Bahasa Isyarat Malaysia, or BIM) is the sign language in everyday use in many parts of Malaysia. BIM has many dialects, differing from state to state.^[1]

Malaysian Sign Language was born when the Malaysian Federation of the Deaf was established in 1998 and use has expanded among deaf leaders and participants. American Sign Language (ASL) has had a strong influence on BIM, but the two are considered different languages. BIM in turn has been the basis for Indonesian Sign Language.

Kod Tangan Bahasa Malaysia or Manually Coded Malay (KTBM) was created by hearing educators and linguists in between 1980 and 1986 and remains the only sign language recognized by the Malaysian Ministry of Education.

Malaysian sign languages which predate BIM are Penang Sign (PSL) and Selangor Sign (Kuala Lumpur Sign, SSL or KLSL). Additionally, every parent of deaf children has own signs called home signs to make a gestural communication. The use of such home signs among peranakan or ethnic Chinese users of BIM may be behind controversy over the supposed influence of Chinese Sign Languages, which does not seem to be documented and may merely be based on ethnic stereotyping.

Reference

• http://www.mfd.org.my/public/edu_eSign.asp?q=0&d=1
• http://www.mfd.org.my/public/content.asp?l=EN&q=BOOK
• Bahasa isyarat Malaysia, isyarat-isyarat ICT: Malaysian Sign Language ICT signs.

References

1. ^ Penterjemahan dan Bahasa Isyarat By Hasuria Che Omar.