Indo-Pakistani Sign Language

Indo-Pakistani Sign Language (IPSL) is the predominant sign language in the subcontinent of South Asia, used by at least 15 million deaf signers. As with many sign languages, it is difficult to estimate numbers with any certainty, as the Census of India does not list sign languages and most studies have focused on the north and urban areas. As of 2021, it is the most used sign language in the world, and Ethnologue ranks it as the 151st most "spoken" language in the world.

Not to be confused with Plains Indian Sign Language.

Indo-Pakistani Sign Language
Native toIndia, Pakistan, Bangladesh
Signers6,000,000 in India (Indian Sign Language, ins), 1,080,000 in Pakistan (Pakistan Sign Language, pks), 450,000 in Bangladesh (West Bengal Sign Language, wbs) (2021)
Possibly related to Nepalese Sign
Dialects
  • Bangalore-Madras Sign Language
  • Bombay Sign Language
  • Calcutta Sign Language
  • Delhi Sign Language
  • North West Frontier Province Sign Language
  • Punjab-Sindh Sign Language
Language codes
ISO 639-3Variously:
ins – Indian Sign Language
pks – Pakistani Sign Language
wbs – West Bengal Sign Language
Glottologindo1332  Indo-Pakistani Sign
indi1237  Indian SL
paki1242  Pakistan SL

Area of use by country.

  Native Countries
  Partial Users
  Non-native users on large scale

Some scholars regard varieties in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and possibly Nepal as variety of Indo-Pakistani Sign Language. Others recognize some varieties as separate languages. The ISO standard currently distinguishes:

  • Indian Sign Language (ins),
  • Pakistan Sign Language (pks),
  • West Bengal Sign Language (Kolkata Sign Language) (wbs), and
  • Nepalese Sign Language (nsp).
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