South African Sign Language
| South African Sign Language | |
|---|---|
|
|
|
| Native to | South Africa |
|
Native speakers
|
235,000 (2011 census) |
|
BANZSL
|
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | |
| Glottolog | sout1404 |
South African Sign Language (SASL) is the standard sign language used by Deaf people in South Africa. It is not an official language of South Africa. The South African government added a National Language Unit for South African Sign Language in 2001. SASL is not the only sign language used in South Africa, but it is the language that is being promoted as the language to be used by all Deaf people in South Africa, although the Deaf in South Africa historically do not form a single group.
In 1995, the previous South African National Council for the Deaf (SANCD) was transformed into the Deaf Federation of South Africa (DeafSA), which resulted in a radical policy change in matters for deaf people in South Africa, such as the development and adoption of a single sign language and the promotion of sign language over oralism. Schools for the deaf have remained largely untransformed, however, and different schools for deaf children in South African still use different sign language systems, and at a number of schools for the deaf the use of any sign language is either discouraged or simply not taught. There are as many as twelve distinctly different dialects of sign language in South Africa.
In addition to South African sign languages, American Sign Language (ASL) is also used by some Deaf people in South Africa. Most local sign languages in South Africa show the influence of American sign language.
SASL is the sign language that is used during television news casts in South Africa. Sign language is also used in the South African parliament, but different sign language interpreters are known to use different signs for the same concepts. There are around 40 schools for the Deaf in South Africa, most using a variety of SASL.
"Sign language" is mentioned in the South African constitution, and the South African Schools Act permits the study of "sign language" in lieu of an official language studied at school.
By 2011, there were 84 SASL interpreters on DeafSA's interpreter register, including 43 without any training, 31 who have completed 240 study hours of interpreter training, and 10 who have gained an additional 3 years' experience and completed a further 480 study hours. A total of 7 SASL interpreters have actually been accredited by SATI/DeafSA. SASL interpreters can apply for accreditation without having completed any formal training in SASL.
South African Sign Language is not entirely uniform and continues to evolve. Due to the geographical spread of its users and past educational policies, there are localised dialects of South African Sign Language and signs with many variants. Earlier efforts to create reference material and standardise the language, such as books (1980 Talking to the Deaf, 1994 Dictionary of SASL), can only be used as historical records of the language. Daily TV broadcasts in sign language give today's South African Sign Language its national cohesion and unity.
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