VGT and French-Belgian Sign Language (LSFB) share a common origin, but both languages have changed significantly over the years. The ChangIN’signs project investigates the linguistic areas in which the two languages are drifting further apart or, conversely, are converging. We examine how language contact and social changes influence the relationship between VGT and LSFB.

Previous research has shown that there were five distinct regional variants of VGT in Flanders, linked to the schools for the deaf in the Flemish provinces. As part of the ChangIN’signs project, we are investigating the extent to which these regional differences still persist or are taking on new forms. Is VGT undergoing a spontaneous standardization process, has it already been completed, or do regional and age-related varieties remain strongly present?

VGT does not exist in isolation: Deaf Flemish sign language users also grow up using Dutch as an everyday language. Due to, among others, the increasing integration of deaf children and youth into mainstream education and the growing use of cochlear implants, contact with Dutch is on the rise. This project investigates how that contact shapes VGT. We aim to understand to what extent and in what ways language contact with Dutch leads to variation and/or change in VGT, and whether this variation and/or change differs by region or generation.

Due to globalization, increasing mobility, and digital communication (e.g. via social media), Flemish Deaf people are increasingly coming into contact with other signed languages and International Sign (IS). The project examines how these international contacts introduce new signs or linguistic structures into Flemish Sign Language (VGT). We also explore how different generations respond to this: do young people adopt new signs more easily, and how do Flemish Deaf signers feel about this?