Na nyingine kutoka nje ya Tanzania : Discussions of Tanzanian Sign Language within a demissionizing context

Abstract

This paper undertakes an empirical investigation of lexical similarity and influence between Finnish Sign Language and Tanzanian Sign Language, situated within the context of demissionization and postcolonial theory. To date, no study along these lines has been undertaken, despite decades of history of Finnish missionaries and teachers in Deaf schools in Tanzania, accompanied by a longstanding record of educational and development support from Finland. By providing historical background information of the Tanzanian Deaf community and the development of Tanzanian Sign Language, this research further provides a contemporary overview of Tanzanian Sign Language.

Over 900 lexical items from Tanzanian Sign Language were compared with signs with equivalent meanings in Finnish Sign Language to determine the extent of influence of Finnish Sign Language within the language. The signs were analyzed based on the Prosodic Model, comparing four main parameters: handshape, place of articulation, movement, and palm orientation. Signs were classified as either identical, similar, or different.

This study provides African sign linguistics a space within the framework of postcolonial theories and decolonization.