Turkish Sign Language

Turkish Sign Language (Turkish: Türk İşaret Dili, TİD) is the language used by the deaf community in Turkey. As with other sign languages, TİD has a unique grammar that is different from the spoken languages used in the region.

TİD uses a two-handed manual alphabet which is very different from the two-handed alphabets used in the BANZSL sign languages.

Status
There is little published information on Turkish Sign Language. The language is not used in classrooms at deaf schools.

Signing communities
According to the Turkish Statistical Institute, there are a total of 89,043 (53,543 male 35,500 female) persons with hearing impairment and 55,480 (34,672 male, 20,808 female) persons with speaking disability living in Turkey, based on 2000 census data.

History
There are references to deaf signs in use in the court of the Ottoman Empire between the 16th century and 17th centuries. However, there is record of the signs themselves and no evidence that this sign system or language is related to modern Turkish Sign Language.

Deaf schools were established in 1902, and until 1953 used TİD alongside the Turkish spoken and written language in education. After 1953, Turkey has adopted an oralist approach to deaf education.