Is there a lingua franca of the sign languages?

My answer is very similar to Tamara's. I've known a deaf couple who were born and raised in different countries. The Scottish husband told me that they focused a lot on making themselves sound more understandable to the non-deaf, and they relied more on lip-reading with some sign language too. read more

Currently, American Sign Language (ASL) functions as something of a lingua Franca among signed language speakers due to its status as the signed language spoken in the United States, with the influence the U.S. holds worldwide, but more importantly because it is the signed language spoken at Gallaudet University, the only Liberal Arts University for the Deaf in the world. read more

This is a list of lingua francas. A lingua franca (English plural"lingua francas", although the pseudo-Latin form"linguae francae" is also seen) is a language systematically used to make communication possible between people not sharing a first language, in particular when it is a third language, distinct from both speakers' first languages. read more

A lingua franca is the term used to describe a language systematically used to enable effective communication between people with different native languages. Lingua Franca has been used throughout human history and was used for commercial, religious, and diplomatic purposes. read more

The only documented sign language used as a lingua franca is Plains Indian Sign Language, used across much of North America. It was used as a second language across many indigenous peoples. Alongside or a derivation of Plains Indian Sign Language was Plateau Sign Language, now extinct. read more