Indian Sign Language: A Natural, Fully Developed Language of Global Stature and Cultural Depth

Indian Sign Language: A Natural, Fully Developed Language of Global Stature and Cultural Depth | Zenodo Skip to main Communities My dashboard Log in Sign up Zenodo is currently experiencing slowness and intermittent outages due to heavy automated traffic from bots and AI crawlers. We are aware of the problem, and our team is focused on stabilizing the service. Thank you for your patience. Published May 4, 2026 | Version v1 Journal article Open Indian Sign Language: A Natural, Fully Developed Language of Global Stature and Cultural Depth Authors/Creators P. Jayachandran* Description This article presents an original analysis of Indian Sign Language (ISL) as a linguistically complete, culturally embedded, and socially significant natural language. Used by millions of deaf citizens across South Asia, ISL possesses all the structural hallmarks of a human language: a systematic phonology, a productive morphology, a rule-governed syntax, and a dynamic lexicon capable of expressing abstract and technical ideas. Drawing upon available linguistic scholarship, government policy documents, and community narratives, this paper argues that ISL is not merely a communication aid but a "greater language" in the sense of its complexity, its adaptability to India's diverse cultural landscape, and its growing institutional recognition. The article examines the grammatical architecture of ISL, its historical emergence within residential schools and deaf communities, its dialectal variations, its relationship with other sign languages, and the current legal and educational frameworks that support it. While constitutional recognition under the Eighth Schedule remains elusive, the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act (2016) and the National Education Policy (2020) have created unprecedented opportunities for ISL’s growth. The paper concludes that ISL deserves full official recognition as one of India’s most important linguistic assets. Files 13-P.Jayachandran.pdf Files (391.5 kB) Name Size Download all 13-P.Jayachandran.pdf md5:b6d2e5a9c0ff93ceec20b548cd161fb0 391.5 kB Preview Download 39 Views 10 Downloads Show more details All versions This version Views Total views 39 39 Downloads Total downloads 10 10 Data volume Total data volume 3.9 MB 3.9 MB More info on how stats are collected.... Versions External resources Indexed in OpenAIRE Communities Keywords and subjects Keywords Indian Sign Language, deaf linguistics, natural sign language, language rights, Indo-Pakistani Sign Language, ISL grammar, deaf education in India. Details DOI DOI Badge DOI 10.5281/zenodo.20019882 Markdown [](https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20019882) reStructuredText .. image:: https://zenodo.org/badge/DOI/10.5281/zenodo.20019882.svg :target: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20019882 HTML <a href="https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20019882"><img src="https://zenodo.org/badge/DOI/10.5281/zenodo.20019882.svg" alt="DOI"></a> Image URL https://zenodo.org/badge/DOI/10.5281/zenodo.20019882.svg Target URL https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20019882 Resource type Journal article Publisher International Journal of Scientific Research and Technology Published in International Journal of Scientific Research and Technology, 3(5), 121-128, ISSN: 2394-7063, 2026. Rights License Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International The Creative Commons Attribution license allows re-distribution and re-use of a licensed work on the condition that the creator is appropriately credited. Read more Citation Export Technical metadata Created May 4, 2026 Modified May 4, 2026 Jump up About About Policies Infrastructure Principles Projects Roadmap Contact Blog Blog Support Help FAQ Developers REST API OAI-PMH Contribute GitHub Donate Funded by Powered by CERN Data Centre & InvenioRDM Status Privacy policy Cookie policy Terms of Use This site uses cookies. Find out more on how we use cookies Accept all cookies Accept only essential cookies

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