Finland-Swedish Sign Language

Finland-Swedish Sign Language
finlandssvenskt teckenspråk (Swedish)
suomenruotsalainen viittomakieli (Finnish)
Native toFinland
EthnicityFinland-Swedes
Native speakers
150 deaf and 300 total (2014)
Same figure of 150 cited in 2001
British Sign?
Language codes
ISO 639-3fss
Glottologfinl1235
ELPFinnish-Swedish Sign Language

Finland-Swedish Sign Language (FinSSL; Swedish: Finlandssvenskt teckenspråk, Finnish: Suomenruotsalainen viittomakieli) is a moribund sign language in Finland. It is now used mainly in private settings by older adults who attended the only Swedish school for the deaf in Finland (in Porvoo, Swedish: Borgå), which was established in the mid-19th century by Carl Oscar Malm but closed in 1993. However, it has recently been taught to some younger individuals. Some 90 persons had it as their native language within Finland in 2014 and it is spoken by around 300 people in total.