The Chaplain to the Deaf Community of the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference (SACBC) has welcomed the recognition of South African Sign Language (SASL) as the 12th official language as it “has been hoped for and anticipated for a long time.”
The recognition of “South African Sign Language as the 12th official language has been hoped for and anticipated for a long time, even during the years of apartheid, when there was a struggle against racism and economic inequality in South Africa, deaf people were already championing the rights and wanting to have sign language recognized officially as a language,” said Fr Mark James during an interview with the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference (SACBC) communications office.
The member of the Order of Preachers of Southern Africa (Dominicans) said the call for the recognition of sign language in South Africa “started with the schools because many Catholic schools and even government schools were educating people using an oral method trying to help them articulate better in English, or sometimes because of the apartheid government, they would force people to be in schools according to the ethnic groups as well.”
“There was this sense of downplaying sign language and emphasizing integrating people into society through making them more aligned with hearing people or the oral tradition, or the oral method of education that was used. So, recognizing sign language as an official language means it can be used not only in education but in all sectors throughout the country,” he added.
On Wednesday, July 19, President Cyril Ramaphosa signed into law the Sign Language Bill as an official language to promote the rights of more than 4 million deaf and hard-of-hearing people.
In the interview with the SACBC communications office, the former Chaplain to the Deaf Community of Johannesburg Archdiocese lauded the SACBC for promoting sign language during liturgical celebrations.
Through the SACBC Lenten Appeal, Fr Mark James OP together with other Chaplains to the Deaf Community has managed to “start an office” for the deaf ministry in the SACBC region.
Fr Mark James OP who is also the Chaplain to the Deaf Community of Manzini Diocese went on to say “We (Chaplains and coordinators) have been coordinating activities since about 2014, and we are starting to get ourselves better organized. We get support from the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference, through the Lenten appeal, to coordinate our activities,” he said.
He added, “About two or three years ago in conjunction with Archbishop Dabula Mpako we started an office for ministry, to the deaf community linking the ministry to the Bishops Conference. And through this office, we are trying to see how we can encourage bishops and priests to be in touch with us, especially if they are themselves aware of deaf people in their communities.”
According to Fr Mark James OP ministry to the deaf community is active in some dioceses in South Africa, Eswatini and Lesotho.
