Speaking with hands

Something that I haven't really spoken about until now is South African Sign Language. SASL is the primary language for Deaf South Africans. Right now there is a massive push to have it as the 12th official language of our country. Why? Well, when your country already has 11 official languages, leaving out one that is so vital to the Deaf community is just wrong on so many levels. SASL isn't even offered as a first language option in schools and only schools for the Deaf even offer it as a subject, despite the fact that inclusive education means that all schools should technically cater for this. I remember doing my teaching diploma and coming across TWO pages of SASL to equip a teacher in the classroom. TWO pages people. That's like me reading and learning our National Anthem and claiming I know Zulu and Xhosa. 

My Hubby and I are not fluent in SASL. Many reasons. Firstly, we were both sent to mainstream schools which meant we never learnt SASL until we became interested in it post high school. Secondly, as we work in a hearing environments we don't get to use it that often. In saying that, we CAN still sign and communicate in sign, but due to lack of practise I'm a bit rusty at the moment! We often sign to each other in noisy situations, even if we forget the signs, we still somehow understand each other.

So, fellow blog readers. My challenge is for YOU to learn some sign. Practise it, teach your friends, go buy an SASL dictionary. The more we spread the word, the more we can push for this to be our 12th official language.

What are you waiting for?