Eritrean Sign Language

Eritrean Sign Language (EriSL), also known as Quwanquwa Mïlïkït Eritra, is a sign language widely used in Eritrea by an estimated 15,000 deaf Eritrean individuals who live there, even though this approximation does not account for the total number of signers, regardless of their hearing capacity. Before its officialization, Eritrean Sign Language's lexicon appeared to follow traditional home sign characteristics, evolving diversely from village to village.

Eritrea underwent a series of colonization, lasting almost four centuries, from the Ottoman Empire, the British Empire, and the Italian Empire, though not resulting in significant linguistic influences in EriSL. It formally developed out of the Swedish and Finnish Sign Languages, which were introduced by Swedish and Finnish Christian missionaries in 1955, containing a certain amount of local Eritrean home signs, and having ASL-based Sudanese influences. Ethiopian sign language did not affect the development of EriSL, given its formal introduction not earlier than 20 years after the advancements of Eritrean Sign Language.  

The heterogeneity of sign language acquisition in Eritrea is significantly influenced by the limited education available in more remote areas of the country. This limits not only the contact and social engagement that the Deaf community is commonly prone to but also the sense of Deaf identity that forms consequent to proximity and exposure to other Deaf individuals.