Albanian Sign Language

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Albanian Sign Language (AlbSL), or Gjuha e Shenjave Shqipe, is the sign language used by Deaf people in Albania. It is one of Europe’s sign languages and is not related to other Balkan sign languages. The language is relatively young and grew mainly after the fall of Communism in 1990. Under communism, deaf people rarely met each other and mostly communicated with hearing people, using Albanian-influenced signs, lots of fingerspelling, and some gestures borrowed from hearing people. After 1990, Deaf communities came together and a full sign language developed. New signs replaced much of the old fingerspelling, and Albanian Sign Language borrowed from International Sign and other European sign languages, bringing many loan signs. The language is changing quickly, with new ideas spreading from the capital Tirana to rural areas. About 24,000 people in Albania were estimated to be native users in 2007.