| UNESCO | Ethnologue | Endangered Languages | Glottolog |
|---|---|---|---|
| n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
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There is no standardised orthography, as there is no script. There is also no standardised visual lexicon that focuses solely on Gronings Sign Language. However, signs from the Gronings Sign Language have been incorporated in the CorpusNGT 1) and the Signlab seeks to incorporate it in the Signbank2).
Gronings Sign Language is spoken in and around the municipality Groningen. It was specifically concentrated around the original deaf school in Groningen, ‘Instituut ter Onderwijzing van Dooven en Stommen’ (now known as the H.D. Guyot Institute).3) The exact size of the language area is unknown. Because a large amount of NGT users from the northern region went to the H.D. Guyen Institute, it is likely that they use or are familiar with the Gronings Sign language. This is also more likely considering people from these regions often stayed here after graduating and still meet at deaf clubhouses or associations (Nederlands Gebarencentrum, personal communication, October 2nd 2025).
There are no records of the numbers of speakers
While Gronings Sign Language has not been officially taught in the Netherlands, it has been closely tied to Sign Language Education in the Netherlands. The first school for the deaf was founded by Henri Daniël Guyot in 1790 in Groningen. Guyot visited the school for deaf Children in 1784. Here he was taught the basic principles of teaching deaf children using French Sing Language. For this reason, an influence of French Sign Language can be found in Gronings Sign Language 4). From 1864 to 1980, the oral method was used at the institute. The actual enforcement of it was much more lenient. Deaf students were still allowed to communicate in sign and often met outside of school hours 5)6) The H.D. Guyot institute still exists today and works together closely Stichting Clubhuis voor Doven, a deaf institution that organises activities for the deaf community in Groningen.7)
Considering this, it is likely that while not being supported in the education system, the institute indirectly contributed to the spread and maintenance of the Gronings Sign Language until now. As mentioned previously, it also work together with Stichting Clubhuis voor Doven. This means that there is likely still transmission of Gronings Sign Language between older and younger generations.
The language has not been recognised via the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages or the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities by the national government. This means that Gronings Sign Language is not a recognised nor protected language.
There is no legislation on a national level.
There is no legislation on a local level.
There is no official instutional support for Gronings Sign Language. There is however Stichting Clubhuis voor Doven, an institution that organises activities and provides a meeting place for the deaf community in Groningen. They additionally have a commission that seek to collect and document the history of all the deaf institutions in Groningen8), and they also provide Dutch Sign Language courses.9)
There is no financial support.
There are no official learning materials, besides the acknowledgement in the courses mentioned below.
There is no training nor support for teachers.
There is no formal education in Gronings Sign Language nor is it taught as a language.
In the MDT courses offered by the NYT, Gronings gebarentaal is addressed (eg. Counting in Gronings Sign Language), but it is not the main focus of the course. The extent to which it is addressed is unknown as of Octobere 2025. 10)
NYT also offers online courses, but it is unknown as of October 2025 if this also contains a course on Gronings Sign Language specifically or only mentions a few signs. 11)