New Zealand Sign Language

New Zealand Sign Language, or NZSL, is the main language used by the deaf community in New Zealand. It became an official language of New Zealand in April 2006. This means that people who are deaf have the same right to understand government information and services as everyone else.

NZSL comes from British Sign Language and is very similar to it. About 62.5% of the signs in NZSL are the same as in British Sign Language. It also shares many signs with American Sign Language, but only about 33% of its signs are the same.

NZSL was created by deaf people for deaf people, and it does not follow any spoken or written language. It uses hand movements, faces, and lips to communicate, which is different from how some other sign languages work. The language includes special signs for Māori culture, like marae and tangi, as well as names of places in New Zealand such as Rotorua and Christchurch.

History

People who could not hear and came from Britain brought their way of communicating, called British Sign Language, to New Zealand. The first person known to teach sign language was Dorcas Mitchell, who taught children in Charteris Bay, Lyttelton Harbour, between 1868 and 1877. She taught 42 students.

When the first school for people who could not hear opened in 1878, the leader believed only speaking should be used and did not allow sign language. This rule stayed until 1979. Even though sign language was not allowed in school, students still used it in secret. After leaving school, they developed what we now call New Zealand Sign Language, mostly by themselves for over 100 years. The main places where people could practice this language were Deaf Clubs in big cities.

In 1994, New Zealand Sign Language was officially used in teaching. In 1985, a researcher showed that NZSL is a real language with its own grammar and many signs. In 1998, a detailed dictionary of NZSL was published, showing about 4,000 signs. In 2011, an online version with video examples was created.

For many years, a weekly TV news program was signed in NZSL, but it stopped in 1993. In 2013, a report talked about making sure people who use NZSL have the same access to information and services as everyone else.

British Sign Language Lyttelton Harbour Deaf and Dumb documentary film signed form of English PhD thesis Victoria University of Wellington adult education Auckland University of Technology dictionary HamNoSys TVNZ hearing-impaired

Official language status

New Zealand Sign Language became the third official language of New Zealand on April 11, 2006, joining English and Māori. The idea was approved by all political parties in 2004 and became law after passing through Parliament in 2006.

Schools now use New Zealand Sign Language along with English to help children who are deaf learn better. Universities like Victoria University of Wellington and Auckland University of Technology also teach courses in New Zealand Sign Language.

Variants

New Zealand Sign Language has different words mainly because of five schools for deaf students in New Zealand. These schools opened at different times and helped shape the language used by deaf people there.

The schools include the Van Asch Deaf Education Centre in Christchurch, which opened in 1880, and Kelston School for the Deaf in Auckland, which opened in 1958 and was later renamed Kelston Deaf Education Centre in 1991. Other schools like St Dominic's School for the Deaf in Wellington and Titirangi School for the Deaf also played important roles.