About International Day of Sign Languages
The International Day of Sign Languages is marked every 23 September, in 2027 on Thursday, 23 September 2027. The United Nations created it in 2017, choosing the date the World Federation of the Deaf was founded in 1951. In India it is marked by deaf associations, schools for deaf children, ISLRTC and colleges, usually alongside the International Week of Deaf People.
Sign languages are not a signed version of speech. Indian Sign Language is not Hindi on the hands, and American Sign Language is not English on the hands. Each one has its own grammar, its own word order and its own way of carrying tone through the face and body. That is the single idea this day exists to fix.
Why is the International Day of Sign Languages on 23 September?
The United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution 72/161 on 19 December 2017 and the first observance was in 2018. The date is the founding day of the World Federation of the Deaf, set up on 23 September 1951 in Rome.
The UN puts the number of deaf people worldwide at more than 70 million, and the number of sign languages at more than 300. The day usually sits inside the International Week of Deaf People, which the World Federation of the Deaf holds in the last full week of September, so many Indian events run across the week rather than on one day.
Is Indian Sign Language one language or many?
One language, with regional variation, which is how most languages work. Deaf signers from Chennai and Chandigarh can hold a conversation. Some signs differ by city or by school, the way vocabulary differs between Hindi in Bhopal and Hindi in Patna, and long-running residential schools have produced local sign sets that persist.
What it is not:
- Not international. There is no single world sign language. International Sign is a contact system used at conferences, not a full language anyone grows up with.
- Not tied to Indian spoken languages. ISL has one grammar across the country, even though the spoken languages around it change every few hundred kilometres.
- Not gesture or mime. Handshape, movement, location, orientation and facial expression all carry meaning. Raised eyebrows can turn a statement into a question.
- Not the same as signed English or signed Hindi, which are teaching codes that borrow ISL signs and force them into spoken-language word order.
What has India actually built for Indian Sign Language?
The Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre, ISLRTC, is the government body. It was set up in 2015 as an autonomous institute under the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, and it is the reference point for ISL teaching material, interpreter training and the dictionary.
The ISL dictionary has grown in stages. The first edition came out in 2018 with about 3,000 signs, the second doubled it to around 6,000, and the third edition, released in February 2021, carried about 10,000 terms, sorted into everyday, academic, legal, technical and medical words. The signs are published as video, which is the only sensible format for a language made of movement.
| What | Where it stands | Why it matters to you |
|---|---|---|
| ISL dictionary | Third edition released February 2021, around 10,000 terms | Free video reference for parents, teachers and learners |
| ISLRTC | Set up in 2015 under DEPwD | Runs diploma and interpreter courses and sets ISL teaching material |
| ISL in law | Recognised as a medium of instruction under the RPwD Act, 2016 | A deaf student can ask for teaching in ISL, not only lip-reading |
| ISL in schools | NEP 2020 asks for ISL to be standardised nationally; Assam offered it as a Class 11 elective from 2025-26 | The route from a special-school subject to a school language |
| Constitutional status | Not in the Eighth Schedule | A long-running demand of deaf associations in India |
| Interpreters | A well-documented shortage of trained interpreters nationally | Book well in advance; do not assume one will be available on the day |
NCERT's Central Institute of Educational Technology runs a free basic ISL course, broadcast on the PM eVidya DTH channel and available online, aimed at teachers, parents and anyone who works with deaf children. It is the easiest legitimate starting point in India for a hearing person who wants to learn.
How should hearing people behave around deaf people?
Most of this is ordinary courtesy that nobody teaches.
Do
- Look at the deaf person and talk to them. If an interpreter is present, the interpreter is not the one you are speaking to.
- Get attention with a wave in the line of sight, a tap on the shoulder or arm, or a light flick if the room allows it.
- Keep your face visible and lit. A mask, a hand over the mouth or a window behind you makes lip-reading impossible.
- Caption your videos. Auto-captions are better than nothing; corrected captions are far better.
Avoid
- Don't shout. Volume does not help, and it distorts your mouth shape.
- Don't say "never mind" when asked to repeat. Write it down instead.
- Don't use "deaf and dumb". "Deaf" is the word deaf people use. "Mute" and "dumb" are both wrong and both resented.
- Don't film a deaf person signing and post it as a feel-good clip without asking.
What should you write on the International Day of Sign Languages?
Write a sentence that changes something on your side.
Happy International Day of Sign Languages. I have learnt to fingerspell my name and yours, badly. Correct me on Saturday.
Marking today by fixing something at work: captions on all our team recordings from this week, and an interpreter booked for the monthly review. Tell me what else is missing.
On the International Day of Sign Languages, thank you for teaching in ISL rather than making children guess from lips. Your students argue, joke and complain in a full language because of it.
Today is for sign languages, so a thank you to the people who make hospitals, courts and classrooms usable. Booking you a month in advance from now on.
Thinking of you today. Learning ISL as a family was the harder road and it gave your daughter a language at home. That is worth saying out loud.
23 September is the International Day of Sign Languages. India has one sign language, ISL, with its own grammar. The free NCERT basic course takes an hour a week. Learning ten signs is a better observance than a poster.
Related pages: World Braille Day on 4 January, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on 3 December, and International Mother Language Day on 21 February, which covers the same argument about languages that lack official standing.
How to wish someone on International Day of Sign Languages
The day belongs to deaf people and to sign languages, not to hearing people feeling good about signing. A message works best when it commits to something small and real: learning to fingerspell your own name, captioning the video you are about to post, or booking an interpreter for the next meeting. If you are writing to a deaf colleague or friend, write plainly and directly. Avoid calling sign language beautiful and leaving it there.
Write a few lines in your own words, pick a design and share it as one link on WhatsApp, Instagram or anywhere else. They open an animated card made just for them, with no app and no sign-up.
Language tip: English, Hindi + recipient language.
When is International Day of Sign Languages in 2026 and 2027?
International Day of Sign Languages is on 23 Sept every year. Only the weekday changes.
- 2026
- 2027
Frequently asked questions
When is International Day of Sign Languages in 2027?
International Day of Sign Languages 2027 falls on Thursday, 23 September 2027.
Is Indian Sign Language the same across India?
Yes, it is one language used across the country, with regional variation in vocabulary the way any large language has. Signers from different states understand each other, though some signs differ by city or by the school where people learnt them.
Is there a universal sign language?
No. There are more than 300 sign languages in the world, and each one grew inside a deaf community rather than being designed. International Sign is a simplified contact system used at international events; it is not anyone's first language.
Is Indian Sign Language recognised by the Indian government?
It is recognised in practice but not constitutionally. The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 treats ISL as a medium of instruction, the National Education Policy 2020 calls for it to be standardised nationally, and ISLRTC is the government institute for it. ISL is not listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, which deaf associations in India continue to ask for.
Where can I learn Indian Sign Language for free?
Start with the ISLRTC dictionary, which publishes around 10,000 signs as video, and the free basic ISL course from NCERT's Central Institute of Educational Technology, which also runs on the PM eVidya DTH channel. Local deaf associations often run classes taught by deaf instructors, which is the best way to pick up natural signing.
Why is 23 September chosen for the day?
Because the World Federation of the Deaf was founded on 23 September 1951. The United Nations adopted the date in December 2017 and the first observance was held in 2018.
What is the right word: deaf, hearing impaired or hard of hearing?
Most deaf people in India say "deaf". "Hard of hearing" is used by people with partial hearing loss, often those who grew up speaking. "Hearing impaired" is common in official writing but many deaf people dislike it. "Deaf and dumb" is offensive and should not be used at all.
Last verified by the Kehdoo team on .