Lizz-Anne Mohale, the Provincial Director of DeafSA in Gauteng, expressed immense pride and described the recognition of South African Sign Language (SASL) as the 12th official language of South Africa as a historic and significant moment for the deaf community.
“It is groundbreaking. This really is a proud moment for the deaf community. It’s a happy moment. We’re ecstatic to be receiving this good news because the advocating and lobbying for South African sign language to become an official language dates back to 1994.”
Yesterday, at the Union Building in Pretoria, President Cyril Ramaphosa, joined by prominent members of the deaf community, officially enacted the South African Sign Language Bill, elevating SASL to the status of the 12th official language.
This momentous event comes after decades of persistent advocacy and lobbying by DeafSA, the broader South African deaf community, and various advocacy groups.
According to the Presidency, the new legislation aims to achieve the following objectives: “Advance the cultural acceptance of SASL, Ensure the realisation of the rights of persons who are deaf and hard of hearing to equal protection and benefit of the law and human dignity, and promote inclusive and substantive equality and prevent or eliminate unfair discrimination on the grounds of disability, as guaranteed by section 9 of the Constitution”.
What Does it Mean for the Deaf Community?
South Africa joins the ranks of four African countries that officially recognise sign language as a legitimate language, alongside Kenya, Zimbabwe, and Uganda.
With the recognition of SASL, the deaf community gains improved accessibility and inclusion in various societal institutions, marking a significant step towards upholding their human rights to the fullest extent possible.
“It means that we can now access and enjoy our full human rights from being a child getting a proper education, and to being a young adult getting accessibility to jobs … It is at the forefront of every deaf South African citizen enjoying their human rights.”
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Understanding SASL
The Presidency stated, “South African Sign Language is an indigenous language that constitutes an important element of South African linguistic and cultural heritage. It has its own distinct grammatical structures and lexicon, and it is independent of any other language.”
Despite variations in dialects worldwide, Mohale emphasised that these differences do not hinder the deaf community in South Africa from communicating effectively with individuals from diverse nations.
“There is also a universal sign language. Certain words and grammar would differ, but I will be able to follow a conversation with another person from another country. [Sign language is] born from different schools, but it is a unique language. It is different from English, and it is different from spoken language because it is a visual language.”
