Malaysian Sign Language

Malaysian Sign Language (Malay: Bahasa Isyarat Malaysia, or BIM) is the principal language of the deaf community of Malaysia. It is also the official sign language used by the Malaysian government to communicate with the deaf community and was officially recognised by the Malaysian government in 2008 as a means to officially communicate with and among the deaf, particularly on official broadcasts and announcements. BIM has many dialects, differing from state to state.^[2]

Malaysian Sign Language was created with the establishment of the Malaysian Federation of the Deaf in 1998, and its use has expanded among deaf leaders and participants. It is based on American Sign Language (ASL), but the two are considered different languages.

Kod Tangan Bahasa Malaysia or Manually Coded Malay (KTBM) is another teaching method created by hearing educators and linguists in between 1980 and 1986 and remains the only form of sign recognized by the Malaysian Ministry of Education as a method to teach Malay to deaf students in formal education settings rather than act as an official language. However, it is not a language in itself, but a means of manually coding the Malay language. The use of KTBM supposedly makes it easier for teachers to teach the Malay language to deaf students.

Sign languages which predate BIM in Malaysia are Penang Sign (PSL) and Selangor Sign (Kuala Lumpur Sign, SSL or KLSL). Additionally, every parent of deaf children uses unique created signs, called home signs, for gestural communication. The use of such home signs among peranakan or ethnic Chinese users of BIM may be responsible for the controversy over the supposed influence of Chinese Sign Languages, which is not well documented and may merely be based on ethnic stereotyping.

To further educate and promote the use of BIM, MFD implemented the BIM Sign Bank as the official source of reference for the sign language to the community, including students, teachers, parents, and the general users. In collaboration with Guidewire Gives Back, the BIM Sign Bank application, "BIM Sign Bank by MFD", was developed and launched in July 2021.

Notes

References

• https://web.archive.org/web/20110609015822/http://www.mfd.org.my/public/edu_eSign.asp?q=0&d=1
• https://web.archive.org/web/20110609015801/http://www.mfd.org.my/public/content.asp?l=EN&q=BOOK
• Bahasa isyarat Malaysia, isyarat-isyarat ICT: Malaysian Sign Language ICT signs.

• v
• t
• e

Languages of Malaysia

Main

Official	Malaysian English comparison with British English

Families

• Austroasiatic
  • Aslian
• Austronesian
  • North Bornean
  • Kayan–Murik
  • Land Dayak
  • Malayic
  • Philippine
  • Sama–Bajaw
• Tai-Kadai
  • Tai

Natives &
Indigenous

Nationwide	Malay
Peninsular Malaysia	Batek Cheq Wong Duanoʼ Jah Hut Jahai Jakun Jedek Judeo-Malay2 Kedah Malay Kelantan-Pattani Malay Kenaboi1 Kensiu Kintaq Kristang Lanoh Mah Meri Minriq Mintil Negeri Sembilan Malay Mos Orang Kanaq Orang Seletar Pahang Malay Perak Malay Reman Malay Sabüm1 Semai Semaq Beri Semelai Semnam Southern Thai Temiar Temoq2 Temuan Terengganu Malay Wila'1
East Malaysia	Abai Bahau Bajau Belait Berawan Biatah Bintulu Bonggi Bookan Bruneian/Kedayan Malay Brunei Bisaya Bukar–Sadong Bukitan Coastal Kadazan Daro-Matu Dumpas Dusun Eastern Kadazan Ganaʼ Iban Ida'an Jagoi Jangkang Kajaman Kalabakan Kanowit Kayan Kelabit Kendayan Keningau Murut Kinabatangan Kiput Klias River Kadazan Kota Marudu Talantang Kuijau Lahanan Lelak1 Lengilu1 Lotud Lun Bawang Mainstream Kenyah Melanau Momogun Murik Kayan Narom Nonukan Tidong Okolod Paluan Papar Punan Bah-Biau Punan Batu2 Penan Remun Sa'ban Sabah Bisaya Sama Sarawak Malay Sebop Sekapan Selungai Murut Sembakung Seru1 Serudung Sian Sungai Tagol Timugon Tombonuwo Tring Tringgus Tutoh Ukit2 Umaʼ Lasan

Significant
minority

Chinese	Sino-Tibetan Yue Cantonese Malaysian Cantonese Hakka Min Eastern Min Fuqing Fuzhou Hainanese Pu-Xian Min Southern Min Hokkien Southern Peninsular Malaysian Hokkien Penang Hokkien Chaoshan Min Teochew Mandarin Chinese Malaysian Mandarin
Indian	Dravidian Malayalam Tamil Malaysian Tamil Telugu Indo-European Gujarati Hindi Punjabi Urdu
Indonesian archipelago	Acehnese Banjar Baweanese Buginese Javanese Kerinci Mandailing Minangkabau Rawa
Philippine	Philippine Iranun Maranao Molbog Suluk

Creoles

• Chavacano
• Kristang
• Manglish
• Malay trade and creole languages
  • Baba Malay
  • Chetty Malay
  • Cocos Malay
  • Sabah Malay

Mixed & Others

• Rojak
• Tanglish
• Esperanto

Immigrants

• African
• Arab
• Bangladeshi
• Burmese
• Cambodian
• East Timorese
• Filipino
• Indonesian
  • comparison with Malaysian
• Iranian
• Japanese
• Korean
• Laotian
• Nepalese
• Pakistani
• Sri Lankan
• Thai
• Vietnamese

Signs

Main	Malaysian Sign Language Manually Coded Malay
By states	Penang Sign Language Selangor Sign Language

• ¹ Extinct languages
• ² Nearly extinct languages