International Institute for Sign Languages and Deaf Studies (iSLanDS)

• Improved and professional development for marginalised groups (deaf sign language users), e.g. through involvement in educational attainment typology research
• Linguistic rights for sign language users through engagement with international policy makers, non-governmental organisations and professional bodies (in India, in Turkey, and with international bodies)
• Greater awareness of the endangerment of sign languages, previously largely ignored, e.g. through work with UNESCO
• Through a better understanding of , more effective training for sign language interpreters working in international contexts, and higher-quality services for deaf people who move abroad sign multilingualism

Empowering deaf communities through our research and teaching activities is at the heart of what we do at the iSLanDS Institute. Here, we share some examples of the impact we have had on deaf communities around the world.

In India, Turkey and Jordan, we have worked with deaf people to set up sign language courses. Our work in India and Turkey has been underway for several years, and deaf people in these countries have become more aware of their own sign languages, developing the skills and confidence necessary to teach their languages.

In India and Turkey there is now training for sign language interpreters, which have a positive effect on the lives of deaf people. This training would not be possible without deaf sign language experts. We continue to support teaching in Jordan, and we are also now working with the Indonesian deaf community in this area.

In 2010 we set up a . . They are among the first deaf people in their countries to get a BA-level qualification. We also set up a foundation-level course to prepare deaf people for entry into the BA course. So far, over 50 students from India, China, Nepal, Uganda and Burundi have passed their BA

The iSLanDS Institute believes that technology has the power to open doors to the acquisition of reading and writing skills by . In 2008, we set up the English Learning Platform (ELP), an online resource for teaching English through sign language and the use of interactive materials.

Through the ELP, deaf Indian students were able to learn English in their own sign language, often for the first time. Our deaf-led research (, ) has shown that platforms like the ELP are both effective and welcomed by deaf people. 

Alongside research on linguistics and deaf studies, we work with deaf organisations and deaf community leaders to share information and skills, and to promote links between deaf communities in different countries. For example, in 2012 we hosted a six-week visit by three deaf people from Indonesia, Jordan and Japan, with trips to deaf organisations in London, Manchester and Lancashire.

One of the goals of the was to promote the documentation of rural sign languages around the world, and to raise awareness of the contribution that these sign languages make to our understanding of linguistic diversity. Many rural sign languages are critically endangered, and in some cases their users have a low opinion of their own sign language (). Through research, it is possible to raise the profile and prestige of rural sign languages. 

Our aims to add data about these languages to UNESCO’s Atlas of Endangered Languages for the first time. Little has been written about the causes of sign language endangerment, and our project is the first that attempts to assess the degree to which different sign languages are endangered. 

iSLanDS runs the SIGN conference series, an international conference on sign linguistics and deaf studies. Unlike most other international conferences, presentations at SIGN are all given in sign language. This is an important development for deaf academics and deaf communities alike, as it exemplifies the use of signed languages at an international academic level, and validates the right of deaf and hearing people to present in sign language.

Our projects, especially those on and , rely on the expertise of deaf researchers, collaborators and participants. In many cases this experience allows these deaf individuals to gain valuable skills and knowledge which they can use to build capacity and become role models within their own deaf communities.

Since we started, we have also supported deaf academics in their studies at the iSLanDS Institute. Seven deaf students, mostly from developing countries, have now studied for an MA or PhD at iSLanDS. On returning home, several have become leading figures nationally and internationally.

Our Previous Projects

• Endangered sign languages in village communities (EuroBABEL EUROCORES, European Science Foundation)

• Deaf literacy (UKIERI)

We will soon add more information here about our impact. In the meantime, for more information about our impact, feel free to contact us

SIGN is a conference series especially for sign language users, which aims to broaden the international research base in sign language linguistics and deaf studies, and enable a worldwide community of Deaf academics to come together at a conference that they regard as their own. All presentations are given in International Sign or the host country’s sign language.

Coordinated by iSLanDS, SIGN began as a workshop called Cross-linguistic Sign Language Research (CLSLR) in 2006 at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics in Nijmegen, The Netherlands. This was repeated in Nijmegen in 2007 and at UCLan in 2008, where the series was renamed SIGN. In 2009, SIGN4 was held in India, followed by SIGN5 in Turkey (2011) and SIGN6 in Goa (2013). SIGN7 took place in China from 12th-15th October 2014

For more information, please email iSLanDS. Updates are also available on our blog.

The iSLanDS Seminar Series is held in our lab on Wednesdays during term time. This is a forum for visiting academics to share research findings on sign languages and deaf studies, and allow postgraduates to test their ideas and practise presenting. Visitors have included Professor Amy Wilson (pictured) on deaf communities in developing countries; Luigi Lerose on deixis and anaphora in Italian Sign Language; and Gail Caudrelier on British Sign Language syntax.

• Bachelors Preparatory Programme for Deaf Students (BPPDS)
• BA (Hons) Applied Sign Language Studies (BAASLS)
• MA by Research
• MPhil/PhD

We welcome students who are already on a postgraduate degree course to undertake a short study visit at iSLanDS.

Case study

Professor Ulrike Zeshan

Jenny Webster

Nick Palfreyman

Rita Fan Huhua, PhD student for our deaf literacy project

Eilidh Rose McEwan is a PhD student for our deaf multiliteracies project. 

Our associates and partners for the project ‘Multilingual behaviours in sign language users’ (funded by the European Research Council) include:

• Prof Karen Emmorey, San Diego State University, USA

• Dr Susanne Michaelis, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany

• Prof Stephen Levinson, Dr Connie de Vos, and Kang-Suk Byun, at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

• Prof İclâl Ergenç, Dr Selçuk İşsever, Bahtiyar Makaroğlu, and Hasan Dikyuva, MA, at Ankara University, Turkey

• Dr Samuel Mathew, National Institute of Speech and Hearing, Kerala, India

The iSLanDS Institute works in partnership with a number of national and international organisations. We have both academic partners and NGO partners.