Time to Sign!

Hope Cotton (she/her)

This week is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week! NZSL is New Zealand’s third official language. It is a beautifully complex language with a rich history of community and resilience. At VUW, we are uniquely placed to celebrate it, with a large Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community, NZSL Courses, and our Deaf Studies Research Unit.  

Some of our current NZSL students share what they enjoy about NZSL. 

Myllo (he/they, hard of hearing) started learning NZSL in 2023, taking the NZSL101 class here at Vic. “I took it as a fun elective... I ended up falling in love with the class and I changed my minor to NZSL. I’ve made so many friends through NZSL. The classes really force you to build strong connections with others. Some of my closest friends at uni are through NZSL”  

Izzy (she/they, hearing) started learning NZSL because a friend who works as an interpreter recommended it to her. “Learning another language has made me more confident in how I express myself - as a person with a speech impediment, the fact that it's a sign language definitely plays a huge role in this. It's also a fantastic way to meet people and bond. It's a very fun language to learn. I think being more aware of sign language and Deaf culture makes you a more considerate person, and it can make you helpful in the world as well” 

Seamus (he/him, hearing) says, “NZSL is useful in so many situations where spoken language might not be the best fit, but it also opens the door to such a rich and expressive culture that exists amongst the NZ Deaf community… I've really enjoyed being able to talk to native signers at the Wellington Deaf Society. It's so cool to converse with people whose first language is NZSL and just watch the language flow.”

As well as being fun, NZSL is a crucial tool for many people to access the world. 

Lucy P, (she/her, hard of hearing) says that learning NZSL has had a massive impact on her life. “The NZSL classes are the first time I've been on a level playing field with everyone else in the room, or perhaps a slight edge - years of lipreading and using visual cues that hearing people otherwise disregard coming to my advantage.”

Aaron (he/him) who is autistic and selectively mute also benefits from NZSL. He explains, “NZSL is a way of communicating for many people. While mainly the Deaf community use sign, there’s also other people who use NZSL.” He goes on, “For me, talking can be overwhelming and tiring. And I am unable to talk to strangers 99% of the time. My brain treats talking like it's akin to trying to touch a hot stove… I wish people knew about being selectively mute, doesn’t mean that we aren’t intentionally not talking. NZSL has had a positive impact on my life, from being able to chat to my friends in NZSL, to feeling like I can participate more in social events.” 

Lucy M (she/her, Deaf) adds, “ NZSL has had such a huge, positive impact on my life. It’s helped me to look at the world in a different way, the Deaf way, rather than the hearing way. NZSL has also allowed me to be my full expressive self and has let me connect with the Deaf world and community.” 

Whilst not all Deaf and Hard of Hearing people use, or have access to NZSL, we all value access to communication. Lucy M says “Communication means to clearly connect and relate with one another without barriers or tension. It is important for relationships and friendships, helping people understand each other on a deeper and more meaningful level. Being able to communicate also means being able to advocate for our needs and rights and express our own thoughts and views.”  

Seth (he/him, hard of hearing) describes what communication means to him. He says, “communication means going both ways. I’ve found in the past people might say something to me at work and leave, then don’t understand why I didn’t complete a task the way they told me to. Communication is talking to someone and them understanding - otherwise it’s just words.” 

Maggie (she/her, hard of hearing) says, “Communication is very important to me, both verbally and creatively in my design. It's the key way to process, expand and understand information! It can come in a variety of forms too, not just verbal.” She describes the difficulties socializing without clear communication. Saying, “ socially, I can't go to bars/clubbing due to the amount of noise! Big groups are a similar situation! This is usually due to the acoustics and busyness of a place, and I have to rely on lip reading (I’m not that good at it!) to pick up on information!” 

Myllo adds, “It’s not just the volume, it’s the pitch and volume regulation as well. I might be able to have a fine 1 on 1 conversation but if we are in a crowded room and there’s lots of complex noise around, I’m screwed.” 

Seth says, “I wish people understood that if I can’t hear you talking normally, then I’m not going to hear you if you speak in the same tone but just repeat what you said. It helps if someone is speaking clearer and making eye contact with me. I think people with hearing impairment naturally lip read, and that, along with body language and clear speaking really makes conversations easier.”  

Lucy P emphasizes that, “hearing aids are an aid not a cure. I do not have 100% hearing with them in, so if you start yapping to me from behind, you are gonna have to repeat yourself. Save yourself the trouble and face me from the beginning.”

Without access to communication, it is difficult to learn. 

Maggie describes her experiences, “primary school was rough. Many of my teachers did not understand that open space classrooms sucked. I was constantly told I had lower success in comparison to my peers which made me have low confidence. It took till intermediate/high school for teachers to understand my needs and wants. Me and my parents were constantly fighting the school system and most of the time the school still wasn't accommodating…”

Lucy P was bullied by her teachers for her disability. She explains, “ None of them like having a 'disabled student' in their class… One year I was forced to change classes as my male teacher misinterpreted my lipreading as me making sexual advances towards him (as a prepubescent child at the time I didn't occur to me how fucked up this was). The constant battle of trying to prove my grades to every new school was exhausting - no these aren't pity marks, no I'm not deaf and dumb, yes I am actually good at maths so maybe don't put me in the bottom set where I'm bored out of my brains… General consensus from parent teacher interviews was that I would be lucky to finish school.”

Now, she describes a “stark contrast of the ease of focusing on learning new signs and concepts compared to when the lecturer stops moving around, then someone else is talking, wait where are they? Damn, I can't see their face to lipread, and now the lecturer is launching straight into an answer with no hint of the question, wait I missed that, oh what is that new concept you are introducing? I need to learn the content whilst simultaneously mentally slotting in missing words of dialogue. ”

Lucy M agrees, saying, “I went to a mainstream school and had no access to NZSL in class. I had spoken English to rely on (as I have Cochlear Implants) for my education. This was a challenge that I faced on a daily basis. If I had access to NZSL as part of my education, that would have made a significant difference to me.”

Although not Deaf, Aaron has also found NZSL has improved his access to education, saying, “By using NZSL I’ve been able to fully engage with my tutorials. This has positively impacted my grades, in comparison to before learning NZSL.” 

Students appreciate NZSL not only for its usefulness, but its depth and beauty.

Myllo says, “It is not just English on the hands! It is its own language with rich culture and history. NZSL has both English and Māori concepts and encompasses slang and terms that make sense in a New Zealand context.”

Izzy expands, “it's not ‘shorthand’ for English/verbal language, and that it can be as complex as any other language, with intricate grammar. Hearing people always assume there's a limit to what you can express in sign.” 

Tiana (she/her, hearing) says, “I wish more people knew how easy and interesting NZSL is. It's such a natural and expressive language and has enriched my life in so many ways…There's so much to learn and understand through NZSL, about yourself, about other people, things you wouldn't even expect. It's such a gift, I am so grateful!”

So, this NZSL week, I encourage you all to learn something new. As Seamus says, “ From Uni papers, night classes, online learning, to the Sign of the Day in the NZSL dictionary - It's so easy to get started knowing one of Aotearoa's official languages.”