South Africa
Sign language will be enacted as 12th official language─── ZENANDE MPAME 12:00 Wed, 19 Jul 2023
The South African Sign Language Bill will be formally signed into law this afternoon by President Cyril Ramaphosa at a ceremony held at the Union Buildings in Pretoria.
South Africa joins Kenya, Zimbabwe, and Uganda as the fourth country on the African continent to recognise sign language as an official language.
To advance the rights of people who are deaf and hard of hearing, the National Assembly decided on 2 May 2023, to alter Section 6 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, to include South African Sign Language as an official language.
President @CyrilRamaphosa will be officiating the public signing of the Sign Language Bill on Wednesday, 19 July 2023. The Bill recognises South African Sign Language as the 12th official language. #SouthAfricanSignLanguage #SASL12 pic.twitter.com/GqIYzKJnn0
— Presidency | South Africa ???? (@PresidencyZA) July 19, 2023
An integral part of South Africa's linguistic and cultural history is the indigenous language known as South African Sign Language.
It is separate from all other languages and has its own unique lexicon and grammatical structures.
A significant step towards the realisation of the rights of people who are deaf or hard of hearing is the recognition of South African Sign Language as the country's 12th official language.
