The Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB) has called on all members of the public to submit their comments on the recently gazetted amendment bill to adopt South African Sign Language (SASL) as an official South African language.
The proposed amendment of section 6 of the Constitution and the national official languages was gazetted on 19 July by the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development. It entails recognising SASL as the 12th official language of South Africa.
Comments must be submitted not later than 30 working days after the date of publication.
“PanSALB seeks to alert all interested parties, particularly the deaf community, to use this opportunity to make submissions to the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development on the bill to include SASL as an official language in the country” said Lance Schultz, PanSALB chief executive officer.
“This is a noteworthy milestone towards creating conditions for the development of SASL and ensuring access to quality information, as well as education, and therefore to prosper the native speakers of the language.”
PanSALB has been working together with the Deaf Federation of South Africa (DeafSA) to ensure recognition for sign language.
These organisations have developed a programme aimed at making SASL progressively efficient.
This programme has seen students being enrolled at selected universities to study Sign Language.
According to the South African National Deaf Association (Sanda), presently there are more than four million deaf people, as well as those who are hard of hearing, in the country.
We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
In times of uncertainty you need journalism you can trust. For 14 free days, you can have access to a world of in-depth analyses, investigative journalism, top opinions and a range of features. Journalism strengthens democracy. Invest in the future today. Thereafter you will be billed R75 per month. You can cancel anytime and if you cancel within 14 days you won’t be billed.