The objective of the linguistic description of Estonian Sign Language is to provide a basic grammar sketch of Estonian Sign Language for both academic and non-academic purposes. Additionally, the description will be made accessible to sign language users. Alongside the general description of linguistic characteristics, a certain linguistic category, namely number, will undergo comprehensive examination and detailed analysis.

Current Projects

Grammar Sketch of Estonian Sign Language

This research project aims to develop a preliminary grammatical sketch of Estonian Sign Language, covering its phonological, morphological, and syntactic structures, along with an overview of the sociolinguistic aspects of Estonian Sign Language and the Estonian Deaf communities. The grammar sketch will be accompanied by a linguistic glossary. Methodologically, the sketch will be developed with input from sign language users and deaf professionals, who will verify the content and data. Both the grammar sketch and glossary will be presented in Estonian Sign Language and Estonian, ensuring accessibility for academic, educational, and everyday consultation purposes.

Number expressions in Estonian Sign Language 

The number system is expressed differently in sign languages, and Estonian Sign Language has its own unique system for expressing numbers. Although there has been research on numbers in Estonian Sign Language, no contemporary description of their form and use currently exists. This project examines numbers both as lexical signs and as grammatical categories in nominal and verbal constructions. The description of numbers will be based on data collected from 40 deaf native signers in Tallinn, Tartu, Narva, and Pärnu. Additionally, the project will explore how hearing non-signers express numbers, involving 10 hearing non-signers. Beyond the linguistic description of numbers, an investigation into certain sociolinguistic aspects will offer insights into their use and variation.