South African Sign Language (SASL) has long been celebrated as a complete language that is independent of any spoken language. After the acceptance of SASL as the 12th official language of South Africa, Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB) created an SASL charter. The charter contains 9 pledges regarding SASL, the recognition, and protection of the language and culture of the people who use it. The first pledge focuses on understanding SASL in its own right.
Understanding SASL in its own right means accepting that it is an indigenous language of choice used by individuals within Deaf Culture. SASL is a complete language, independent of any spoken language. It is respected for its value in communication, the transfer of culture and history, and its role in artistic expression.
The first of the 9 pledges created by PanSALB states that there must be a better understanding, nationally, of SASL in its own right. Have you ever pondered where Sign Language came from, if it’s the same all over the world, and if it borrows from English or another spoken language? Read on. Let’s take a deep dive into South African Sign Language and why it should be valued as a language in its own right.
Understanding SASL
To gain a deep understanding of SASL, we need to look far back into our history. Where did Sign Language originate, and who invented it? Is it standardized and universal? Let’s unpack these questions and more, as we explore an understanding of SASL.
South African Sign Language, as with all Sign Languages, was created by Deaf people through the need to communicate. Because people live in different areas and have different experiences, signs tend to differ, too. So, different forms of Sign Language emerged right from the beginning.
While there seems to always have been Sign Language, it was in the 1500s that a Benedictine monk called Pedro Ponce de Leon began using Signs to educate Deaf Spanish students. In the 1700s, Charles Michel de l’Eppe urged the notion of using Signs in Deaf Education when he further formalized Sign Language for education.
South African Sign Language is rich with multiple dialects. We owe this in part to our history of apartheid. Our separate cultural groups developed their own Sign Language dialects apart from each other for as long as we were kept apart.
It was only when learners from diverse backgrounds began to attend school together, that dialects started to emerge. Having a language that is adaptable and can change over time and space is one of the criteria of a real language.
The fact that we have a culturally diverse country, teeming with rich heritage only adds to the fullness of SASL. While the grammatical structure of SASL remains the same throughout the country, our different dialects use varying vocabulary.
The dialects differ not based on spoken language or culture, but rather according to location. Amazingly, members of the Deaf Community can, after a few minutes, understand each other while communicating even if using different dialects.
Just as SASL has dialects based on where you are in the country, so too, does the world have different Sign Languages based on where you are in the world. Sign Language is not universal. South African Sign Language belongs to South Africa. Other countries have their own Sign Languages. So, America has American Sign Language (ASL), Britain has BSL, Kenya has KSL, and so on.
SASL: A Language in Its Own Right
Since its inception in 1995, PanSALB has been lobbying for the rights and protection of the languages and cultures housed in South Africa. Created by parliament, this organisation aims to ensure that our rainbow nation remains true to our promise of accepting all cultures.
Let’s have a look at what the charter mentions as vital when recognizing SASL as a language in its own right.
- It’s the primary language of Deaf persons in South Africa and should be respected as a language choice for interactions.
- It’s an indigenous language that forms part of South African heritage.
- It has distinct grammatical structures and lexicon, independent of any other language.
- It’s capable of expressing human experience, including communication in all settings, artistic expression, social relationships, and cultural identity.
- It’s not a communication option or tool for inclusion, but an indigenous language in its own right.
Since SASL is truly a language in its own right, it is clear that it should be respected and given the same value as all other languages in the country.
How To Treat SASL As a Language in Its Own Right
While we typically focus on assisting our corporate clients to adopt a more inclusive business model, PanSALB provides a few additional elements to the first pledge of the charter that are worth looking at as a part of this article.
They explain that to treat SASL as a language in its own right, all South African citizens should learn to communicate using SASL.
They recommend that we should also ensure the following:
- that SASL is promoted, maintained, and regularly used in all aspects of South African life.
- that SASL is protected and preserved as a part of Deaf Culture and heritage.
Wrapping It Up
The first pledge of PanSALB’s charter is a wonderful reminder of the value of SASL in our country. Not only is Sign Language a fun and quirky team-building tool, but a deep and culturally important language that holds a place for many as part of their linguistic and cultural heritage.
Of course, if you want to begin your journey of learning SASL right now, you are a click away from success. We have a range of SASL courses available to choose from. Select the one that resonates with you and make your mark.
