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ISL and Lamh – Key Differences

By caroline | June 4, 2008

Irish Sign Language (ISL) and Lamh (the Irish word for ‘hand’) are both manual languages with distinct similarities and differences.

ISL, the language of the Deaf community in Ireland, is constantly evolving and has its own syntax and idiosyncrasies.

Lamh, a signing system for children and adults with intellectual disabilities and communication needs in Ireland, is based on ISL, with adaptations.

The key differences:

• Lamh uses signs with speech – not the case with ISL
• some signs are more representative in Lamh than in ISL
• Lamh uses simple hand shapes if possible, instead of finger-spelling in ISL
• natural gesture is chosen with Lamh wherever possible
• Lamh has a smaller number of signs (about 500 in all)

In professional terms, Lamh is recognized as a standardized, Irish-based approach to augmentative communication in special education.

ISL is not a formally-recognised language but is used by about 40,000 individuals in Ireland, both inside & outside the Deaf community.

Release Communication Intervention has a good post on Lamh versus PECS (the Picture Exchange Communication System) for non-verbal children.

Topics: Irish Deaf Kids | 2 Comments »

2 Responses to “ISL and Lamh – Key Differences”

1. Lamh - The Manual Language Explained | irish deaf kids Says:
   November 19th, 2009 at 8:39 pm

   [...] ISL and Lamh – Key Differences [...]

2. Including Deaf Children At Preschool - Part One | irish deaf kids Says:
   February 15th, 2010 at 6:57 pm

   [...] ISL and Lamh – Key Differences [...]

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