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Nicaraguan Sign: How Schoolchildren Invented the World’s Newest Language
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Language is impossibly complicated. And yet, nearly everyone uses it with ease. Where does it come from?
In this episode we look for clues to answer this question in the story of the world’s newest language, how it arose, and what it tells us about what it means to be human.
References
Blunden, A. (1990). The invention of Nicaraguan sign language . Www.ethicalpolitics.org. https://www.ethicalpolitics.org/ablunden/works/nsl.htm
Bouchard, K. (2018, March 19). Seeing the signs: Renowned USM professor reflects on life-changing language discovery. Portland Press Herald. https://www.pressherald.com/2018/03/19/seeing-the-signs-renowned-usm-professor-reflects-on-life-changing-language-discovery/
Fitch, W. T. (2010). The evolution of language. Cambridge University Press.
Niemann, S., Greenstein, D., & David, D. (2025). Women’s health can damage or protect children’s hearing . In Hesperian.org. Hesperian Health Guides. https://en.hesperian.org/hhg/Helping_Children_Who_Are_Deaf:Women%E2%80%99s_health_can_damage_or_protect_children%E2%80%99s_hearing
Polich, L. (2005). Chapter 11. The diagnosis of deafness in Nicaragua. In Diagnosis as Cultural Practice (pp. 223–240). Mouton de Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110199802.223
Wikipedia Contributors. (2019, November 11). Nicaraguan sign language. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicaraguan_Sign_Language
Wikipedia Contributors. (2025a, January 26). Judy Shepard-Kegl. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judy_Shepard-Kegl
Wikipedia Contributors. (2025b, March 30). Education in Nicaragua. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Nicaragua#Education_during_the_Sandinista_era
Wikipedia Contributors. (2025c, April 9). Nicaraguan Revolution. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicaraguan_Revolution#Contras
Williams, L. (2018). Nicaraguan Sign Language - Language Stories: Episode 11║Lindsay Does Languages Video [YouTube Video]. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6Wtwz1P7zI
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