Centre's big push for sign languages

(Second from left) Krishan Pal Gurjar, minister for social justice and
empowerment, was the chief guest.

HIGHLIGHTS

• International Day of Sign Languages was celebrated by the ISLRTC on Sept 23
• Sign language is a powerful visual language that can revolutionise deaf education
• Sign languages are complex grammatical languages just like the spoken ones

24.09.2018

International Day of Sign Languages was celebrated by the Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre (ISLRTC) on September 23.

It was organised by the department of empowerment of persons with disabilities (Divyangjan), which is facilitated by the ministry of social justice and empowerment.

Shakuntala Gamlin, secretary of DEPwD, Dolly Chakravarty, joint Secretary and director, ISLRTC, as well as many hearing and speech impaired individuals, were also present with their families for this occasion.

The chief guest Krishan Pal Gurjar, minister for social justice and empowerment, congratulated all hearing and speech impaired individuals for the occasion, and stated that the union government was committed to the welfare of Divyangjan, and that many important steps had been taken during the past 4 years.

He added that his ministry had written to all ministries to make special provision for sign language interpreters in all their functions and programmes, for the benefit of all hearing and speech impaired individuals.

He concluded his remarks saying, sign language is a powerful visual language which can revolutionise deaf education and develop qualified human resources.

International Day of Sign Languages is annually celebrated across the world on 23 September, along with International Week of the Deaf.

The theme of International Day of Sign Languages is "With Sign Language, Everyone is Included!" IWDeaf is taking place between Monday, September 24, and Sunday, September 30. Sign language has been used for centuries. The language capabilities of deaf children who use sign language are better than those who don't.

There is no advantage to delaying exposure to sign language, and research on the development of language has proved that early exposure reduces the risks of language development.

A great deal of intensive therapy is needed after Cochlear Implantation, and even then the success is not guaranteed.

Educators and policy makers have gradually started bilingual schooling, ideal for deaf children as they use sign language as their first language and are taught other spoken language through it.

This helps in enhancing their literacy skills. A child can express anything through sign language.

A deaf child can have a CI and use sign language simultaneously. The longer a person waits, the more their child's brain has to deal with the harmful effects of language loss.

Sign languages are complex grammatical languages just like the spoken ones. They have their own grammar and vocabulary.

No one form of sign language is universal. Different sign languages are used in different countries or regions.

For example, British Sign Language (BSL) is a different language from ASL, and Americans who know ASL may not understand BSL, and vice-versa.