Puerto Rico Senator Ángel A. Toledo López has presented, for the third time, a bill (P. del S. 1463) seeking to officially recognize Puerto Rican Sign Language (LSP) as the natural, culturally and linguistically legitimate language of the deaf community in Puerto Rico. The measure would establish as public policy the respect for linguistic rights, promote preservation of the language’s regional variants, and require a census to better determine the needs of the deaf population.
The bill was announced alongside the presentation of a work by Yarett E. Piñeiro Rodríguez, an educator, interpreter and advocate for the deaf community, whose work documents the history, culture, vocabulary and regional variations of sign language used in Puerto Rico. The event emphasized that LSP is not a local adaptation of American Sign Language (ASL) but a distinct language with its own identity, structure and expressions developed by Puerto Rico’s deaf community.
Toledo López said recognizing LSP means recognizing the identity, culture and dignity of a community that has long had to demand access to information and services in its own language. The bill also authorizes the Office of Liaison with the Deaf Community, under the Ombudsman for Persons with Disabilities, to coordinate studies and recommendations with representative deaf community organizations.