Gesture and Sign Languages in Tibet and the Himalayas

This chapter provides a go-to resource and overview of gesture research and sign languages in Tibet and the Greater Himalayas, which is an under-researched area of Himalayan anthropology and linguistics. It covers co-speech gestures used by hearing people, as well as formal and informal sign language varieties used mainly by deaf people and/or shared with hearing residents. The formal sign languages covered include deaf community sign languages, such as Tibetan Sign Language (TSL) and Bhutanese Sign Language (BhSL), as well as three village sign languages in Nepal, including Ghandruk, Jumli and Jhyankot Sign Languages. The chapter focuses on the Tibetosphere, defined here as the geo-political and socio-cultural area influenced by Tibetic languages and a major area of Tibeto-Burman languages. It places gesture and signed languages in a broader language ecology framework, allowing an analysis of influences from spoken and written language environments, and broader politics on the loss of vitality of all indigenous sign languages in the region. National sign languages, such as Chinese and Nepali Sign Languages and the spread of the Cochlear implant (CI), are identified as the greatest threats to the future vitality of indigenous Himalayan and Tibetan sign languages, an issue which this chapter raises awareness.