History of Education of The Deaf in South Africa
Timeline :
- 1863 Irish nuns start training programs in sign language
- 1874 Grimley Institute for the Deaf and Dumb established by Bridget Lynne in Cape Town
- 1881 De La Bat school established in Worcester
- 1920 Adoption of Oralism in Deaf schools
- 1934 Separation between European and Non-European schools
- 1941 First school "for the Black Deaf" established
- 1984 Medium of education changed from vernacular (native tongue) to English in Department Of Education and Training schools
- 1996 "Sign language" (but not specifically SASL) mentioned in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa as a language to be promoted
As early as 1863, Irish nuns were involved in training programmes for the Deaf. Irish Sign Language, "originally heavily influenced by French Sign Language" is said to have had a noticeable influence in sign languages in the world, including in South Africa.
In 1874 in Cape Town, the first institution for the Deaf called Grimley Institute for Deaf and Dumb was established by an Irish Deaf woman named Bridget Lynne.
In 1881 in Worcester, De La Bat school for the Deaf was established.
From 1877, Dominican sisters started to settle near Durban. In 1884, Sister Stephanie Hanshuber, from Germany, introduced the oral method in South Africa.
In 1888 "King William's Town Convent School for the Education of the Deaf" was formally opened.
"Since there is little historical evidence, it is presumed that South African Sign Language has a mixture of the Irish influence from the Dominican Irish nuns, and British influence as well as the American influence. (Sign Language is the natural language of the Deaf.)"
Read more about this topic: South African Sign Language
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