PanSALB
With Sign Language already accepted as a 'home language' by the South African Basic Education Department, another step has finally been taken by the government to have it recognised as the country's 12th official language.
It's positive progress for the deaf community following the recommendation by Parliament's Constitutional Review Committee on Monday.
The Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB) welcomed the move.
It said in a statement that the news had been "warmly" received after the publication of the 18th Constitutional Amendment Bill that would be up for public comment.
PanSALB CEO, Lance Schultz, said: "South African Sign Language (SASL) is the primary language of deaf persons in South Africa that constitutes an important element of our country's linguistic diversity and cultural heritage.
"The approval of the proposed bill amendment to Section 6 of the Constitution not only brings us closer to its officialisation, but also reaffirms the democratic right of Deaf persons to participate in public life using their own language."
Schultz implore citizens that "we must, as a country, develop cross-sectoral policies and programmes to improve the deaf community's access to quality information to also ensure the effective protection of their linguistic rights.
"The officialisation of SASL on its own, will not guarantee that the requisite changes are executed without the adoption and implementation of language policies and practices that consider the needs of the Deaf community," concluded Schultz.
He said the proposed bill amendment of Section 6 of the Constitution and the National Official Languages would soon be gazetted by the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development for public comment to recognise SASL as the 12th official language of South Africa.
