International (MNN) — What would you do if the only language you knew wasn’t respected? What if neighbors and local businesses wouldn’t bother to learn it?
Rob Myers with DOOR International says, “Many Deaf people have experienced a lot of misunderstanding and even a lot of oppression when it comes to the use of their own language. In certain countries and in certain contexts, Deaf people are told that their language is not a real language, that it’s monkey language, and that it’s not equivalent to written or spoken language.
“Some people have the notion that sign language can’t express everything that a spoken or written language can. Of course, none of that is true. Sign languages are rich, deep, complex languages. In fact, people could make the argument that sign languages are linguistically more complex than spoken or written languages.”
(Graphic courtesy of DOOR International)
Another misconception is that sign languages are simply a different medium of spoken or written language—for example, that Spanish Sign Language is Spanish in sign format.
“Back in the 1960s, linguists started to realize that, no, these languages have their own grammar, their own structure. They’re very, very distinct from the written languages around them,” Myers says.
By 2023, around a third of the countries of the world had recognized their country’s sign language as an official language. That number will continue to trend upward.
“Twenty percent of that recognition has happened just in the last five years,” Myers says.
This is a long-overdue change. Resources such as Bible translations and learning materials are scant in the around 375 sign languages known to exist. DOOR works to advance Bible translation, church planting, and evangelism by the Deaf for the Deaf. That has to be done in their heart languages, which are sign languages.
Pray for DOOR’s innovative translation work, and learn more about the facts, not fiction, of Deaf experience by visiting DOOR’s website. Not sure where to start? Check out DOOR’s white paper here, which discusses myths as well as the best next steps for engaging with Deaf communities
You can also find DOOR International on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
The header image is a representative photo depicting a Hearing person learning sign language in an online course. (Photo courtesy of SHVETS Production/Pexels)
