Following the recognition of sign language as the 12th official language in South Africa earlier this month, Namibians have applauded the move, urging swift action for Namibia to follow suit.
Executive director of the Namibian National Association of the Deaf (NNAD) Linekela Nanyeni described the step as a grand milestone, adding that the human rights and dignity of the hearing-impaired South Africans have been fully attained.
“We are imploring President Hage Geingob to initiate a constitutional review to accord Namibian Sign Language (NSL) an official language status under section 3 of Chapter 1 of the Namibian Constitution,” said Nanyeni.
He said, “There seems to be some misunderstanding about the official status. This does not call to overrule the Constitution’s status of the Namibian official language. This is a call for the Namibian Constitution or other documents to equally recognise NSL as the language of the deaf Namibians”.
Nanyeni said NSL is used in schools for the hearing impaired as a medium of instruction and as a subject; however, this subject is still not made optional for anyone wishing to take up sign language in mainstream schools, and this tends to show how discriminatory the process is.
“NNAD is currently putting together resources to develop an online NSL app that will house an NSL dictionary. This project will be implemented over two years and will continue to grow as many signs are developed. This version will have live videos, which will make learning easy and at one’s comfort,” he added.
There are no concrete figures regarding the number of hearing-impaired Namibians, although Nanyeni’s estimates stood at more than 41 000.
Disability affairs minister Alexia Manombe-Ncube told this publication the National Assembly is very much aware of the request for recognition of sign language in Namibia.
“On 22 September 2022, I made a parliamentary statement, mentioning the importance of recognising Namibian Sign Language as an official language, including all the benefits it will have for the deaf community once NSL is recognised as an official language and concerning the right to education in their mother tongue,” said Manombe-Ncube.
She added: “This is a journey, as certain elements must be in place for government to achieve this realisation. Therefore, with the current political will and commitment, Namibia will also follow suit.”
Manombe -Ncube plans to bring a motion to Parliament once it resumes in September 2023.
South African president Cyril Ramaphosa on 19 July 2023 signed into law the South African Sign Language Bill during a ceremony at the Union Buildings in Pretoria.
During the signing ceremony, he said South African Sign Language has served as an essential communication tool for citizens with such disabilities, and this step will further empower the community.
“By making sign language official, we aim to advance their rights to substantive equality, dignity and also their social inclusion. To empower people to use their language is to affirm their humanity,” stated Ramaphosa.
He said this official recognition of sign language follows an intensive and extensive public consultation process, as a substantial number of submissions
were made and considered very carefully to ensure all issues were appropriately ventilated.
“Having sign language recognised as an official language will address access to education, economic and other social opportunities as well as public participation. People with hearing impairments will be able to also access more services, public information and a host of other opportunities,” he noted.
Ramaphosa said the official recognition is just the beginning, and much more work still needs to be done to support this language.
“It has to be standardised to collapse various geographical dialects into one standard official version, which is the remit of the Pan South African Language Board. The fact that the first comprehensive electronic sign language dictionary has already been developed demonstrates the enthusiasm
to develop this language,” he noted.
South Africa becomes the fourth African state to recognise sign language as an official means of communication after Kenya, Uganda and Zimbabwe.