Croatian Sign Language

Croatian Sign Language (Croatian: Hrvatski znakovni jezik, HZJ^[2][3]) is a sign language of the deaf community in Croatia.^[4][5] It has in the past been regarded as a dialect of Yugoslav Sign Language, although the dialectical diversity of the former Yugoslavia has not been assessed.^[6]

Croatian Sign Language
Hrvatski znakovni jezik
Native to	Croatia
Native speakers	6,500 (2019)[1] out of 20,000 deaf[1]
Language family	French Sign Austro-Hungarian Sign Yugoslav Sign Croatian Sign Language
Language codes
ISO 639-3	csq
Glottolog	croa1242

The first school for the deaf in Croatia was formed in Zagreb in 1885.^[7] The Sign Language and Deaf Culture conference was held in Zagreb, Croatia from May 3–5, 2001.^[8] In 2004, a project to establish a grammar of HZJ was started by researchers at Purdue University and the University of Zagreb.^[9]

By law Croatian Radiotelevision is to promote the translation of programs into HZJ.^[10] Major centres of education in HZJ are found in Zagreb, Split, Rijeka, and Osijek.^[11]

Organizations for the deaf in Croatia include the Croatian Association of Deafblind Persons DODIR, which was established in 1994.^[12]

The basic word order in HZJ is subject–verb–object (SVO), as it is in spoken Croatian.^[13] A two-handed manual alphabet is in widespread use; a one-handed alphabet based on the international manual alphabet, though less commonly used, has official status.^[6][14][15]