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German Sign Language

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German Sign Language
Native toGermany, Belgium, Luxembourg
Native speakers
Between 80,000 and 395,000 (2014)[1]
German Sign Language family
  • German Sign Language
Language codes
ISO 639-3gsg
Glottologgerm1281
  Areas where German Sign Language is a national language
  Areas where German Sign Language is in significant use alongside another sign language

German Sign Language (German: Deutsche Gebärdensprache, DGS) is the sign language of the deaf community in Germany, Luxembourg,[2] and the German-speaking community of Belgium.[3] Estimates regarding the precise number of active DGS signers vary considerably; Gallaudet University estimated approximately 50,000 primary users as of 1986, while broader contemporary estimates range up to 80,000. The language has evolved naturally through continuous use within deaf communities over several centuries.

Recognition

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Germany historically maintained a dominant oralist tradition following the Second International Congress on Education of the Deaf in Milan (1880), which led to widespread institutional suppression of sign language in educational settings.[4] German Sign Language was first legally recognized under Federal Law via Section 6 of the Federal Disability Equality Act (Behindertengleichstellungsgesetz – BGG) in May 2002.[5] Under this statute, deaf individuals possess a legal right to utilize DGS when interacting with federal administrative authorities free of charge.[6]

Broadcast media inclusion remains limited. Public television coverage with signing is primarily restricted to major news broadcasts and summaries. One dedicated monthly/weekly program produced entirely in DGS is Sehen statt Hören (Seeing Instead of Hearing), a documentary-style news magazine produced by Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR) and syndicated across ARD regional state broadcasters.

In 2018, the Luxembourgish Chamber of Deputies voted unanimously to grant official recognition to German Sign Language.[2]

German and German Sign Language

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German Sign Language is typologically independent of spoken German. While spoken German relies predominantly on a subject–verb–object (SVO) word order in main clauses, DGS employs a primary subject–object–verb (SOV) structural strategy.[7] As a result, the two languages exhibit distinct syntactic and morphological structures, though spoken German has influenced DGS vocabulary through contact borrowing.

An artificial signing framework that forces sign production directly onto spoken German syntax is known as Signed German (Lautsprachbegleitende Gebärden or Lautbegleitende Gebärden, "sound-accompanying signs"). Used primarily in educational contexts, Signed German is an instructional tool rather than a natural, community-developed language. Another manual representation system for German phonology is cued speech, termed Phonembestimmes Manualsystem (Phonemic Manual System).

Manual alphabet and fingerspelling

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DGS manual alphabet

German Sign Language employs a one-handed manual alphabet ('Fingeralphabet') derived from the 18th-century French manual alphabet. It is closely related to manual alphabets used across Europe and North America. It differs from the American Sign Language (ASL) manual alphabet in the configuration of the letter T and the addition of a designated sign for SCH (a 'five' handshape). Additional letters representing German umlauts (Ä, Ö, Ü) and the letter ß are formed by executing a downward spatial shift of the base signs for A, O, U, and S.

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Regional variants of German Sign Language exist, notably around major urban centers such as Hamburg, Berlin, and Munich. Sign varieties in regions corresponding to former East Germany demonstrate distinct vocabulary divergences from western dialects.

Polish Sign Language descended historically from German Sign Language. Israeli Sign Language also shares ancestral ties, having originated from the signing methods used by German Jewish educators who established a school for deaf children in Jerusalem in 1932. DGS is not structurally related to Austrian Sign Language or Swiss Sign Language; both belong to the French Sign Language family, despite limited lexical borrowing from DGS due to geographic proximity.

Notation systems

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Everyday signers do not use a standard written script for DGS. In academic research and linguistic documentation, DGS is recorded using the Hamburg Notation System (HamNoSys). SignWriting also maintains a user base within educational and transcription contexts in Germany.

Grammar

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The structure of German Sign Language can be formally categorized across conventional linguistic divisions: phonology, morphology, morphosyntax, and syntax.

Phonology

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Signs are composed through simultaneous combinations of features across four primary parameters: handshape, hand orientation, location, and movement. Altering a single feature within a parameter can yield a distinct sign, establishing minimal pair contrasts. DGS utilizes 32 distinct handshapes, including the six universal basic handshapes observed across signed languages.

Two-handed signs adhere to strict phonotactic rules:

  • Rule of symmetry: If both hands move simultaneously, they must share identical handshapes and movement patterns.
  • Rule of dominance: If the hands assume different handshapes, only the dominant hand executes movement while the non-dominant hand remains static as an articulation base.

Uninflected lexical signs in DGS consist of at most two syllables. Syllables are structured around two structural timing slots: Hold (H) and Movement (M). Syllabic patterns occur as M (minimal syllable), HM, MH, or HMH (maximal syllable). The syllable structure H in isolation is phonotactically prohibited.

Lexical signs frequently incorporate non-manual features such as eye movements, mouth gestures, facial expressions, head movements, and torso posture. Approximately 25% of lexical signs require mandatory non-manual components. Mouth movements matching spoken word components are termed mouthing.

Syntax

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Clause structure

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          1. Unmarked word order =====

The basic unmarked word order in DGS is subject–object–verb (SOV).

1)

[PRON]2

you

subject

ARBEIT

work

object

SUCH-

search

verb

[PRON]2 ARBEIT SUCH-

you work search

subject object verb

'You are looking for a job.'

2)

[PRON]1

I

Subject

BROT

bread

Object

1GEB-2[cl:Brot]

I-give-you(-something-bread-shaped)

Verb

[PRON]1 BROT 1GEB-2[cl:Brot]

I bread I-give-you(-something-bread-shaped)

Subject Object Verb

'I give you (the) bread.'

Indirect objects systematically precede direct objects within the clause structure.

3)

[PRON]1

I

Subject

[POSS]1 VATER3

my father

indirect object

BROT

bread

direct object

1GEB-3[cl:Brot]

I-give-him(-something-bread-shaped)

verb

[PRON]1 {[POSS]1 VATER3} BROT 1GEB-3[cl:Brot]

I {my father} bread I-give-him(-something-bread-shaped)

Subject {indirect object} {direct object} verb

'I give my father (the) bread.'

In verbal complexes containing auxiliary or modal verbs, the auxiliary element follows the lexical verb.

4)

[PRON]2

you

Subject

ARBEIT

work

object

SUCH-

search

"full verb"

MÜSS-

must

"auxiliary"

[PRON]2 ARBEIT SUCH- MÜSS-

you work search must

Subject object {"full verb"} "auxiliary"

'You have to look for a job.'

5)

[PRON]1

I

Subject

RADFAHR-

ride-a-bike

"full verb"

KÖNN-NICHT

cannot

"auxiliary"

[PRON]1 RADFAHR- KÖNN-NICHT

I ride-a-bike cannot

Subject {"full verb"} "auxiliary"

'I can't ride a bike.'

6)

[PRON]1

I

Subject

KOMM-

come

"full verb"

VERSUCH-

try

"auxiliary"

[PRON]1 KOMM- VERSUCH-

I come try

Subject {"full verb"} "auxiliary"

'I'll try to come.'

7)

[PRON]1

I

Subject

WOHNUNG

apartment

Object

PUTZ-

clean

"full verb"

KEINE-LUST-HAB-

can't-be-bothered

"Modalverb"

[PRON]1 WOHNUNG PUTZ- KEINE-LUST-HAB-

I apartment clean can't-be-bothered

Subject Object {"full verb"} "Modalverb"

'I can't be bothered cleaning the apartment.'

Animate referents unindexed by verb agreement can be marked using the Personal Agreement Marker (PAM). PAM marks spatial loci and functions as an auxiliary sign placed after the main verb. The Benefactive Marker (BEM) follows an identical distribution.

8)

[PRON]1

I

Subject

LIEB-

love

"full verb"

[PAM]2

you

"auxiliary"

[PRON]1 LIEB- [PAM]2

I love you

Subject {"full verb"} "auxiliary"

'I love you.'

9)

[PRON]1

I

Subject

ARZT3

doctor

Object

LIEB-

love

"full verb"

[PAM]3

him/her

"auxiliary"

[PRON]1 ARZT3 LIEB- [PAM]3

I doctor love him/her

Subject Object {"full verb"} "auxiliary"

'I love the doctor.'

10)

[PRON]1

I

Subject

BUCH

book

object

KAUF-

buy

"full verb"

[BEM]2

for-you

"auxiliary"

[PRON]1 BUCH KAUF- [BEM]2

I book buy for-you

Subject object {"full verb"} "auxiliary"

'I bought a book for you.'

Temporal adverbials establish clause-level topics and occupy clause-initial position.

11)

GESTERN

yesterday

Time

FRAU3

woman

Subject

[POSS]1 SCHWESTER4

my sister

Indirect object

BUCH

book

Direct object

3GEB-4[cl:Buch]

she-give-her(-something-book-shaped)

Verb

GESTERN FRAU3 {[POSS]1 SCHWESTER4} BUCH 3GEB-4[cl:Buch]

yesterday woman {my sister} book she-give-her(-something-book-shaped)

Time Subject {Indirect object} {Direct object} Verb

'Yesterday a/the woman gave my sister a/the book.'

Locative expressions follow temporal adverbials at the beginning of the clause.

12)

GESTERN

yesterday

Time

UNIVERSITÄT [LOK]A

university there

Location

[PRON]1

I

Subject

MANN NETT

man nice

Object

KENNENLERN-

meet

Verb

GESTERN {UNIVERSITÄT [LOK]A} [PRON]1 {MANN NETT} KENNENLERN-

yesterday {university there} I {man nice} meet

Time Location Subject Object Verb

'I met a nice man at the university yesterday.'

This spatial ordering adheres to the Figure–Ground Principle, placing large, stationary references before smaller, movable figures.

13)

WALDA

forest

Ground

HAUS

house

Figure

STEH-in-A[cl:Haus]

house-shaped-object-is-situated-there

Verb

WALDA HAUS STEH-in-A[cl:Haus]

forest house house-shaped-object-is-situated-there

Ground Figure Verb

'There is a house in the forest.'

Sentence-level adverbs occur clause-initially.

14)

HOFF

hope

Sentence adverb

[PRON]3

s/he

Subject

HUND

dog

Object

KAUF-

buy

Verb

HOFF [PRON]3 HUND KAUF-

hope s/he dog buy

{Sentence adverb} Subject Object Verb

'Hopefully s/he'll buy a dog.'

Verb-modifying adverbs lacking manual expression occur in separate trailing adverbial clauses.

15)

[POSS]1 CHEF

my boss

Subject

TANZ-,

dance

Verb

SCHÖN

beautiful

Adverbial clause

{[POSS]1 CHEF} TANZ-, SCHÖN

{my boss} dance beautiful

Subject Verb {Adverbial clause}

'My boss dances beautifully.'

Wh-interrogatives systematically occur clause-finally following the verb.

16)

[PRON]2

you

Subject

BESTELL-

order

"full verb"

WÜNSCH-

desire

"auxiliary"

WAS

what

Wh

[PRON]2 BESTELL- WÜNSCH- WAS

you order desire what

Subject {"full verb"} "auxiliary" Wh

'What would you like to order?'

17)

[PRON]2

you

Subject

D-G-S

DGS

object

LERN-

learn

"full verb"

WÜNSCH-

desire

"auxiliary"

WARUM

why

Wh

[PRON]2 D-G-S LERN- WÜNSCH- WARUM

you DGS learn desire why

Subject object {"full verb"} "auxiliary" Wh

'Why do you want to learn DGS?'

18)

[PRON]2

du

Subject

SOZIAL WISSENSCHAFT

social sciences

Object

STUDIER-

study-at-university

"full verb"

ANFANG-

begin

"auxiliary"

WANN

when

Wh

[PRON]2 {SOZIAL WISSENSCHAFT} STUDIER- ANFANG- WANN

du {social sciences} study-at-university begin when

Subject Object {"full verb"} "auxiliary" Wh

'How long have you been studying social sciences at university?'

Negative lexical elements occupy clause-final position when emphasized.

19)

[PRON]1

ich

Subject

[POSS]2 GELIEBTE(R)

your partner

Object

KENNENLERN-

meet

Verb

NOCH-NICHT

not-yet

Negation

[PRON]1 {[POSS]2 GELIEBTE(R)} KENNENLERN- NOCH-NICHT

ich {your partner} meet not-yet

Subject Object Verb Negation

'I haven't met your partner yet.'

20)

[PRON]1

I

Subject

ESS-

eat

"full verb"

WÜNSCH-

desire

"auxiliary"

NICHTS

nothing

negation

[PRON]1 ESS- WÜNSCH- NICHTS

I eat desire nothing

Subject {"full verb"} "auxiliary" negation

'I don't want to eat anything at all.'

Unemphasized negation remains in its default pre-verbal or pre-auxiliary position.

21)

[PRON]1

I

Subject

NICHTS

nothing

object

ESS-

eat

"full verb"

WÜNSCH-

desire

"auxiliary"

[PRON]1 NICHTS ESS- WÜNSCH-

I nothing eat desire

Subject object {"full verb"} "auxiliary"

'I don't want to eat anything.'

Determiners (demonstratives, quantifiers, relative indicators) follow the noun head.

22)

BUCH

book

Noun

[DEM]A

this

Determiner

BUCH [DEM]A

book this

Noun Determiner

'this book'

Attributive adjectives follow the noun head directly.

23)

BUCH

book

Noun

NEU

new

Adjective

BUCH NEU

book new

Noun Adjective

'a/the new book'

DGS lacks a overt copular verb (to be). Predicative adjectives are typically separated from the noun head by a demonstrative or determiner.

24)

BUCH

book

Noun

[DEM]A

this

Determiner

NEU

new

Adjective

BUCH [DEM]A NEU

book this new

Noun Determiner Adjective

'This book is new.'

25)

BUCH

book

Noun

NEU

new

Adjective

[DEM]A

this

Determiner

BUCH NEU [DEM]A

book new this

Noun Adjective Determiner

'this new book'

Possessive adjectives occupy a medial position between the possessor and the possessed entity.

26)

MANN3

man

Possessor

[POSS]3

his

Possessive

AUTO

car

Possession

MANN3 [POSS]3 AUTO

man his car

Possessor Possessive Possession

'the man's car'

27)

LETZTE-WOCHE

last-week

Time

[POSS]1 VATER3 [POSS]3 HAUS [LOK]A

my father his house there

Location

[PRON]2

you

Subject

[POSS]1 MUTTER4

my mother

Indirect object

GELD

money

Direct object

2GEB-4

you-give-her

"full verb"

WÜNSCH-

desire

"auxiliary"

WARUM

why

Wh

LETZTE-WOCHE {[POSS]1 VATER3 [POSS]3 HAUS [LOK]A} [PRON]2 {[POSS]1 MUTTER4} GELD 2GEB-4 WÜNSCH- WARUM

last-week {my father his house there} you {my mother} money you-give-her desire why

Time Location Subject {Indirect object} {Direct object} {"full verb"} "auxiliary" Wh

'Why did you want to give my mother money at my father's house last week?'

          1. Marked sentences =====

Displaced elements (topicalized or focused phrases) require accompanying non-manual markers, such as raised eyebrows or head tilts.

28)

eyebrows raised

FRAU [DEM]A

woman that

Topicalised object

 

[PRON]1

I

Subject

head shake

MÖG-

don't-like

Verb

{eyebrows raised} {} {head shake}

{FRAU [DEM]A} {[PRON]1} MÖG-

{woman that} I don't-like

{Topicalised object} Subject Verb

'That woman, I don't like.'

29)

[PRON]1

I

Subject

ITALIEN

Italy

Object

LIEBHAB-

adore

Verb

[PRON]1 ITALIEN LIEBHAB-

I Italy adore

Subject Object Verb

'I love Italy.'

30)

eyebrows raised

LAND

country

Topic

 

[PRON]1

I

Subject

 

ITALIEN

Italy

Object

 

LIEBHAB-

adore

Verb

{eyebrows raised} {} {} {}

LAND [PRON]1 ITALIEN LIEBHAB-

country I Italy adore

Topic Subject Object Verb

'My favourite country is Italy.'

31)

eyebrows raised

ESSEN

food

Topic

 

[PRON]1

I

Subject

 

ITALIEN

Italy

Object

 

LIEBHAB-

adore

Verb

{eyebrows raised} {} {} {}

ESSEN [PRON]1 ITALIEN LIEBHAB-

food I Italy adore

Topic Subject Object Verb

'My favourite food is Italian.'

References

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  1. ↑ German Sign Language at Ethnologue (19th ed., 2016) Closed access icon
  2. 1 2 "German sign language unanimously recognised". RTL Today. Archived from the original on 2019-12-15.
  3. ↑ "Languages in Belgium". Belgium.be. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  4. ↑ Vogel, A. (2008). History of Deaf Education in Germany. Gallaudet University Press. ISBN 978-1563683800.
  5. ↑ "Behindertengleichstellungsgesetz (BGG) § 6 Gebärdensprache und andere Kommunikationshilfen". gesetze-im-internet.de. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  6. ↑ Deutscher Gehörlosen-Bund e.V.
  7. ↑ Bross, Fabian; Hole, Daniel (2017). "Scope-taking strategies and the order of clausal categories in German Sign Language". Glossa: A Journal of General Linguistics. 2. doi:10.5334/gjgl.106.

Further reading

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  • "German Sign Language Dictionary" – Maisch, Günther, and Fritz-H. Wisch (1987–89). Gebärden-Lexikon. Hamburg: Verlag hörgeschädigter Kinder.
  • "German Sign Language" Rammel, Georg (1974). Die Gebärdensprache: Versuch einer Wesenanalyse. Berlin-Charlottenburg: Marhold.
  • "Signed German" Hogger, Birgit (1991). Linguistische Überlegungen zur lautsprachbegleitenden Gebärdung. Hörgeschädigtenpädagogik, v.45 no.4, p. 234-237
  • Daniela Happ, Marc-Oliver Vorköper: Deutsche Gebärdensprache : Ein Lehr- und Arbeitsbuch. Fachhochschulverlag, Frankfurt am Main 2006, ISBN 3-936065-76-4
  • Helen Leuninger: Gebärdensprachen : Struktur, Erwerb, Verwendung. Buske, Hamburg 2005, ISBN 3-87548-353-7
  • Bross F (2020). The clausal syntax of German Sign Language (pdf). Berlin: Language Science Press. doi:10.5281/zenodo.3560718. ISBN 978-3-96110-219-8.
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