HONOLULU (AP) -- Linguists say they have determined that a
unique sign language, possibly dating back to the 1800s or
earlier, is being used in Hawaii, marking the first time in 80
years a previously unknown language -- spoken or signed -- has
been documented in the U.S. Researchers will formally announce
their findings this weekend showing it's not a dialect of
American Sign Language, as many long believed, but an unrelated
language with unique vocabulary and grammar. Only about 40
people, most in their 80s, are known to currently use Hawaii
Sign Language, meaning the discovery comes just as the language
is on the cusp of disappearing. "I think that everyone in the
room is aware of how Hawaiian, the indigenous language of this
state, has been brought back from the brink of extinction,"
William O'Grady, linguistics professor at the University of
Hawaii, said at a news conference. "But what we didn't know
until very recently is that Hawaii is home to a second highly
endangered language that is found nowhere el