Together we stand: Why The Dominion Post has a sign language masthead

Sunday, 5 May 2019

Most of us do things daily without giving them the remotest thought.

We know when our loved ones laugh or cry even when we're in the room next door. We listen to our favourite tunes. We answer our mobile phones. We dip into and out of conversations. We revel in birdsong and get annoyed when the neighbour's chainsaw goes all day.

We do these things because we're blessed with working ears - and can hear.

Blake Curry, 6, and van Asch Deaf Education Centre resource teacher Cathryn Meijer say 'I love you' in sign language.

But tens of thousands of New Zealanders, and around 70 million people worldwide, are not. Sounds are either badly muffled or totally inaudible, and so they rely on another form of communication - sign language.

**READ MORE:

The Dominion Post has incorporated NZSL into its masthead for NZ Sign Language Week.

* Deaf children need better access to New Zealand Sign Language to close the education gap

* Celebrating New Zealand Sign Language Week and working toward an accessible future**

Wellington Editor, Dominion Post and Stuff, Eric Janssen says if we all learn a little New Zealand Sign Language we can all listen to each other.

Today is the start of New Zealand Sign Language Week - Deaf Aotearoa, a week that raises awareness of our deaf community and provides a platform for deaf people to promote their language and culture.

It will surprise many, but NZ Sign Language is, alongside English and te reo Māori, an official language of New Zealand.

And there are precious few countries in the world that list their sign language as official. In fact, a Google search of many, many countries flushed out only one other. Put it this way, were you to attend one of his noisy rallies, you could spell 'love you' or 'loathe you' to Donald Trump in sign language.

Just as we did with our te reo Māori masthead last year, we have a special masthead this week to mark NZ Sign Language Week, spelling out Dominion Post.

It's done to raise awareness, but also to encourage all who enjoy the ease and wonder of sound to learn a phrase or two in sign language, whether a simple 'hello', 'have a great day' or how to order a coffee.

We're a very inclusive society in New Zealand, and just because some cannot hear us, does not mean we can't talk with them.

**Eric Janssen

Editor, Dominion Post and Stuff Wellington**