Sign language is South Africa’s 12th official language

South African Sign Language (SALS) is now South Africa’s 12th official language.

President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday signed the Constitution Eighteenth Amendment Bill, the South African Sign Language Bill, into law.

On May 2, the National Assembly approved that Section 6 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 be amended to include SASL as an official language to promote the rights of persons who are deaf and hard of hearing.

With this initiative, South Africa becomes the fourth country on the African continent to recognise sign language as an official language; other countries are Kenya, Zimbabwe and Uganda.

The Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB) said this was a significant milestone for the country’s constitutional democracy which guarantees in its founding provisions human dignity, equality and the advancement of human rights and freedoms.

“The PanSALB believes that this achievement further validates and solidifies SASL as a language resource for unleashing the potential of the deaf community at large.”

The PanSALB added that this also presented an opportunity for ordinary South Africans to learn SASL to bridge the gap that exists between the hearing and the deaf community.

According to PanSALB, the effective implementation of SASL as an official language in the country will require cross-sectoral resources that will incorporate appropriate interventions, including ensuring that all deaf children have access to quality early childhood development, care and education through SASL; and provisions for the training of family members in SASL to be able to communicate with their children.

“A holistic view of implementing SASL as an official language is necessary for the bill to have a meaningful impact on the lives of the Deaf community. PanSALB published the South African Sign Language Charter on September 4, 2020 which contains nine key pledges that should serve as a framework to promote the fair and courteous treatment of the Deaf and should be adopted by all spheres of government and civil society,” said PanSALB chief executive Lance Schultz.

PanSALB said it was conducting national and provincial workshops on the South African Sign Language Charter and was monitoring the use of SASL within the public service.

Cape Times