Bolivian Sign Language
PrintA language of Bolivia
ISO 639-3
Population
350 to 400 (1988 E. Powlison).
Location
Cochabamba, La Paz, Riberalta, Santa Cruz.
Language Status
6a (Vigorous).
Classification
Dialects
Based on American Sign Language [ase] with necessary changes for borrowed Spanish lexical items. Some groups in La Paz and Santa Cruz use the same signs with some dialect signs from their own areas. There is evidence that Bolivian Sign Language is no more divergent from ASL [ase] than some dialects of ASL (Morgan 2004).
Language Resources
Originated by missionaries. Other deaf schools use only the oralist approach.