Sign languages are the primary means of communication among Deaf signers or hearing children of deaf parents (the capitalization of "Deaf" indicates the culture associated with deafness). In the cultural area covered by this encyclopedia, the best-studied are Chinese Sign Language (CSL), Hong Kong Sign Language (HKSL), and Taiwan Sign Language (TSL) (Sign Languages, Mainland China; Sign Languages, Hong Kong; Sign Languages, Táiwān).

Linguistic research on sign languages began with Stokoe (1960) and Stokoe et al. (1965), who studied American Sign Language (ASL). U…