Mozambican Sign Language (Portuguese: Língua de Sinais Moçambicana) is the principal language of the deaf community of Mozambique. It is reported to have "some dialectal variation", and to be spoken in at least the three largest cities of Maputo, Beira, and Nampula. As of 1999, there were efforts at standardization. MSL is not based on Portuguese Sign Language—or for that matter on American Sign Language—but other than that, its origin is not recorded.
^a Sign-language names reflect the region of origin. Natural sign languages are not related to the spoken language used in the same region. For example, French Sign Language originated in France, but is not related to French. Conversely, ASL and BSL both originated in English-speaking countries but are not related to each other; ASL however is related to French Sign Language.
^b Denotes the number (if known) of languages within the family. No further information is given on these languages.
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