Manually Coded Languages (MCL) are representations of spoken languages in a gestural-visual form; that is, "sign language" versions of spoken langauges. They are not the natural languages of Deaf communities, although they often take signs ("lexicon") from the deaf sign language, adding specially-created signs (often using "initialisations"), and build them into a representation of the spoken langauge.
Manually Coded Langauges proliferated in the latter half of the 20th century, but precedents can be traced to the manual alphabets used in the middle ages in Europe, and the Abbé de l'Épée in 18th century France. They are often used in schools and by interpreters.
The use of MCLs is controversial, and is opposed by those who believe Deaf people should speak, lipread and use hearing aids rather than sign, as well as those who support the natural sign languages of the Deaf community over these cumbersome systems invented by hearing people.
List of manually coded languages
- Afrikaans: Signed Afrikaans
- Alu (Thailand): Cued Speech (Alu)
- Arabic: Arabic Sign Language; Cued Speech (Arabic)
- Byelorussian: Cued Speech (Byelorussian)
- Chinese:
- Cantonese: Cued Speech (Cantonese (Chinese))
- Signed Chinese (Taiwan)
- Danish: Signed Danish
- Dutch: Cued Speech (Dutch)
- Signed Dutch (Netherlands)
- Flemish: Vlamisch met Gebaren ("Signed Dutch (Belguim)")
- English (see Manually Coded English): Paget Gorman Signed Speech (PGSS); The "Rochester Method" — fingerspelling everything (different manual alphabets are used in different regions).
- American English: American Signed English; Seeing Essential English (SEE1); Signing Exact English (SEE2); Linguistics of Visual English (LOVE); Conceptually Accurate Signed English (CASE); Cued Speech (American English)
- Australian English: Australasian Signed English; Cued Speech (Australian English)
- British English: British Signed English and Sign Supported Speech (SSS); Cued Speech (British, Standard Southern)
- Hiberno-English (Ireland): Signed English (Ireland)
- Esperanto: Signuno
- Finnish
- Flemish - see Dutch (Belgium)
- French:
- Belgian French: Signed French (Belgium)
- Canadian French: Cued Speech (French-Canadian)
- Standard French (France): le Français Signé ("Signed French"); Cued Speech ("Langage parlé complété", LPC)
- German: Lautsprachbegleitende(r) Gebärden or Lautbegleitende Gebärden (LBG, "Signed German"); "Phonembestimmes Manualsystem" (Phonemic Manual System).
- Indonesian: Sistem Isyarat Bahasa Indonesia (SIBI, "Signed Indonesian")
- Japanese: Signed Japanese
- Norwegian: SIgned Norwegian
- Portuguese: Signed Portuguese
- Cued Speech (Brazilian)
- Cued Speech (European)
- Russian: Signed Russian
- Spanish: Signed Spanish
- Swedish: Tecknad svenska, ("Signed Swedish"), developed in the 1970s but now largely out of use.
- Telegu: Cued Speech (Telegu)
- Thai: Cued Speech (Thai)
- Warlpiri (Australia): Warlpiri Sign Language
See also
- Contact sign — A mixed language arising from contact between a spoken or manually coded language and a deaf sign language.
- Manual alphabet — a means of representing the written alphabet of a spoken language, but often a central part of natural sign languages.