A sign language interpreter at a presentation. The hands are facing each other in orientation: one is palm-up, the other palm-down.
In sign languages, orientation (ORI) is the distinctive relative degree of rotation of the hand when signing. Orientation is one of five components of a sign, along with handshape (DEZ), location (TAB), movement (SIG), and facial-body expression.
^a Sign-language names reflect the region of origin. Natural sign languages are not related to the spoken language used in the same region. For example, French Sign Language originated in France, but is not related to French. Conversely, ASL and BSL both originated in English-speaking countries but are not related to each other; ASL however is related to French Sign Language.
^b Denotes the number (if known) of languages within the family. No further information is given on these languages.
^c Italicised languages demark which languages have gone to sleep or have become extinct.
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