The UN General Assembly has proclaimed 23 September as the International Day of Sign Languages in order to raise awareness of the importance of sign language in the full realization of the human rights of people who are deaf.
Background and why
- This celebration arises from the 2017 UN General Assembly Resolution A/RES/72/16, which recognizes 23rd September as the International Day of Sign Languages.
- As per the UN, the resolution establishing the day acknowledges that early access to sign language and services in sign language, including quality education available in sign language, is vital to the growth and development of the deaf individual and critical to the achievement of the internationally agreed development goals.
- It recognizes the importance of preserving sign languages as part of linguistic and cultural diversity.
Introduction to Sign Languages and Indian Sign Language
Numbers
- According to the World Federation of the Deaf, there are more than 70 million deaf people worldwide.
- More than 80% of them live in developing countries.
- Collectively, they use more than 300 different sign languages.
Sign languages vis-a-vis natural language
- The UN defines Sign languages as fully fledged natural languages, structurally distinct from the spoken languages.
- Indian Sign Language (ISL) is a natural visual-manual language native to the Deaf community of India and used by both Deaf and Hearing community.
History of Sign Language Day
The start
- The International Day of Sign Languages was first celebrated in 2018 as part of the International Week of the Deaf. Since then, every year 23rd September is celebrated as the International Day of Sign Languages all over the world.
- In India, we call it Sign Language Day and have celebrated 23rd September every year since 2018.
Why 23rd September?
- The choice of 23rd September for Sign Language Day was also because of the fact that the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) was established on the same day in 1951.
Significance of Sign Language Day
Adoption in UNGA
- The UN (United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has proclaimed 23rd September as the International Day of Sign Languages in order to raise awareness of the importance of sign language in the full realization of the human rights of people who are deaf.
Theme of Sign Language Day-2024
- The theme of this year’s Sign Language Day 2024 is “Sign up for Sign Language Rights”.
What is Sign Languages?
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- Sign languages are fully fledged natural languages, structurally distinct from the spoken languages.
- There is also an international sign language, which is used by deaf people in international meetings and informally when traveling and socializing.