Like spoken languages, sign languages originate from different communities and change through time. There is no such thing as a universal sign language. Language contact is common, making a classification difficult. Contact occurs between various sign languages, between signed and spoken languages and between sign languages and gestural systems used by wider communities. For example, according to researcher Nobutaka Kamei, there are at least 25 sign languages in Africa alone.

LIST OF KNOWN TYPES OF SIGN LANGUGAES

Africa

• Adamorobe Sign Language (ADS) (Ghana)
• Algerian Sign Language
• Bamako Sign Language (in a school in Mali)
• Bura Sign Language — Nigeria (PDF link)
• Chadian Sign Language
• Congolesian Sign Language
• Egypt Sign Language
• Ethiopian Sign Language
• Franco-American Sign Language — a pidgin observed in Cameroon and elsewhere in West and Central Africa.
• Gambian Sign Language
• Ghana Sign Language (or “Ghanaian Sign Language”) (GSE)
• Guinean Sign Language
• Hausa Sign Language “Maganar Hannu” (HSL) — Northern Nigeria (Kano State)
• Kenyan Sign Language (KSL or LAK)
• Libyan Sign Language
• Malagasy Sign Language (or “Madagascan Sign Language”)
• Morroccan Sign Language
• Mozambican Sign Language
• Mbour Sign Language — Senegal
• Namibian Sign Language
• Nigerian Sign Language
• Sierra Leone Sign Language
• South African Sign Language (SASL)
• Tanzanian Sign Language (seven independent languages, one for each deaf school in Tanzania)
• Tunisian Sign Language
• Uganda Sign Language (USL)
• Zambian Sign Language (ZASL)
• Zimbabwe Sign Language

The Americas

• American Sign Language (ASL)
• Argentine Sign Language (LSA)
• Bolivian Sign Language
• Brazilian Sign Language “Lingua Brasileira de Sinais” (LIBRAS)
• Chilean Sign Language “Lenguaje de Señas Chileno” (LSCH)
• Colombian Sign Language (CSN)
• Costa Rican Sign Language (LESCO)
• Cuba Sign Language
• Ecuadorian Sign Language
• Guatemalan Sign Language
• Honduras Sign Language “Lengua de señas hondureña” (LESHO)
• Maritime Sign Language
• Mayan sign languages
• Mexican Sign Language “Lengua de señas mexicana” (LSM)
• Nicaraguan Sign Language “Idioma de señas nicaragüense” (ISN)
• Quebec Sign Language “Langue des Signes Québécoise” (LSQ)
• Peruvian Sign Language
• Providence Island Sign Language
• Salvadorian Sign Language
• Uruguayan Sign Language
• Urubú Sign Language
• Venezuelan Sign Language “Lengua de señas venezolana” (LSV)
• Yucatec Maya Sign Language

Asia/Pacific

• Auslan (Australian Sign Language)
• Ban Khor Sign Language — used in the Isan region of Thailand.
• Bengali Sign language
• Chinese Sign Language “中国手语” (ZGS)
• Filipino Sign Language “Philippine Sign Language” (PSL)
• Hawaii Pidgin Sign Language
• Hong Kong Sign Language “香港手語” (HKSL)
• Huay Hai Sign Language (Thailand)
• Indo-Pakistani Sign Language or Indian Sign Language
• Indonesian Sign Language Bahasa Isyarat Indonesia (BII)
• Japanese Sign Language “日本手話” (Nihon shuwa), (NS)
• Kata Kolok — used in Bali
• Laos Sign Language
• Korean Sign Language
• Malaysian Sign Language “Bahasa Isyarat Malaysia” (BIM)
• Mongolian Sign Language
• Na Sai Sign Language (Thailand)
• Nepal Sign Language
• New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL)
• Old Bangkok Sign Language
• Old Chiangmai Sign Language
• Plaa Pag Sign Language
• Penang Sign Language (used in Malaysia)
• Selangor Sign Language (used in Malaysia)
• Singapore Sign Language
• Sri Lankan Sign Language
• Taiwanese Sign Language
• Tibetan Sign Language
• Thai Sign Language
• Vietnamese sign languages (Hanoi Sign Language, Ho Chi Minh Sign Language, Haiphong Sign Language)

Europe

• Albanian Sign Language “Gjuha e Shenjave Shqipe”
• Armenian Sign Language
• Austrian Sign Language “Österreichische Gebärdensprache” (ÖGS)
• Belgian-French Sign Language “Langue des Signes de Belgique Francophone” (LSFB)
• British Sign Language (BSL)
• Bulgarian Sign Language
• Catalan Sign Language (or “Catalonian Sign Language”) “Llengua de Signes Catalana” (LSC)
• Croatian Sign Language (Croslan) “Hrvatskog Znakovnog Jezika” (HZJ)
• Czech Sign Language “Český znakový jazyk” (CZJ)
• Danish Sign Language “Tegnsprog”
• Dutch Sign Language “Nederlandse Gebarentaal” (NGT), also commonly known as “Sign anguage of the Netherlands” (SLN)
• Estonian Sign Language “Eesti viipekeel”
• Finnish Sign Language “Suomalainen viittomakieli” (SVK)
• Finland-Swedish Sign Language “finlandssvenskt teckenspråk” (Swedish) or “suomenruotsalainen viittomakieli” (Finnish)
• Flemish Sign Language “Vlaamse Gebarentaal” (VGT)
• French Sign Language “Langues des Signes Française” (LSF)
• German Sign Language “Deutsche Gebärdensprache” (DGS)
• Greek Sign Language “Ελληνική Νοηματική Γλώσσα” (GSL)
• Hungarian Sign Language “Magyar jelnyelv”
• Icelandic Sign Language “Táknmál”
• Irish Sign Language (ISL)
• Italian Sign Language “Lingua dei Segni Italiana” (LIS)
• Lithuanian Sign Language “Lietuvių gestų kalba”
• Maltese Sign Language “Lingwi tas-Sinjali Maltin” (LSM)
• Northern Ireland Sign Language (NISL)
• Norwegian Sign Language “Tegnspråk” (NSL)
• Polish Sign Language “Polski Język Migowy” (PJM)
• Portuguese Sign Language “Língua Gestual Portuguesa” (LGP)
• Russian Sign Language “Russkii Zhestovyi Iazyk”
• Spanish Sign Language “Lengua de signos española” (LSE)
• Swedish Sign Language “Svenskt teckenspråk” (TSP)
• Swiss-French Sign Language “Langage Gestuelle”
• Swiss-German Sign Language “Deutschschweizer Gebärdensprache” (DSGS)
• Turkish Sign Language “Türk İşaret Dili” (TİD)
• Valencian Sign Language “Llengua de Signes en la Comunitat Valenciana” (LSCV)

Middle East

• Al-Sayyid Bedouin Sign Language (ABSL), Southern Israel
• Israeli Sign Language
• Persian Sign Language
• Jordanian Sign Language Lughat il-Ishaarah il-Urduniah (LIU)
• Kuwaiti Sign Language
• Saudi Arabian Sign Language

Historical sign languages

• BANZSL – Language family to which BSL, Auslan, and NZSL belong
• Martha’s Vineyard Sign Language
• Old French Sign Language – Parent language of many sign languages
• Old Kent Sign Language

Auxiliary sign systems

• Australian Aboriginal sign languages
• Baby Sign – using signs to assist early language development in young children.
• Baseball Sign – a method used in baseball and softball to communicate strategic plays without the opponent knowing
• Contact Sign – a pidgin or contact language between a spoken language and a sign language, eg. Pidgin Sign English (PSE).
• International Sign (previously known as Gestuno) – an auxiliary language used by deaf people in international settings.
• Makaton – a system of signed communication used by and with people who have speech, language or learning difficulties.
• Monastic sign language
• Plains Indian Sign Language
• Tic tac – a traditional British system of communicating betting odds at racecourses.