Deaf community celebrates milestone as South Africa's 12th official language

For many years sign language was not standardised, resulting in different communities living with hearing impairments adopting a home language - unofficial communication that enabled them to communicate amongst themselves.

The community's relentless advocacy saw for the first time since the dawn of democracy, the signing into law of the Sign Language Bill by President Cyril Ramaphosa, in July 2023.

This paved the way for the language to be standardized and for the acceptance of deaf culture, as well as ensuring the community's equal protection and human dignity by section 9 of the Constitution. Sign language is now South Africa's 12th official language.

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