Auslan

Recognition and status

Auslan was recognised by the Australian Federal Government as a "community language other than English" and the preferred language of the deaf community in policy statements in 1987{{ref|LoBianco}} and 1991.{{ref|Dawkins}} However, this recognition is yet to filter through to many institutions, government departments and professionals who work with deaf people.

Related Topics:
Australian Federal Government - Deaf community - 1987 - 1991

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The emerging status of Auslan has gone hand-in-hand with the advancement of the deaf community in Australia, beginning in the early 1980s. In 1982, the registration of the first sign language interpreters by NAATI{{ref|Flynn}}, a newly established regulatory body for interpreting and translating, accorded a sense of legitimacy to Australian sign language, furthered by the publishing of the first dictionary of Auslan in 1989. Auslan began to emerge as a language of instruction for deaf students in secondary schools in the 1990s ? mainly through the provision of interpreters in mainstream (hearing) schools with deaf units. Boosted by the federal Disability Discrimination Act of 1992, sign language interpreters are also increasingly provided in tertiary education.

Related Topics:
1980 - 1982 - NAATI - 1989 - 1990s - Disability Discrimination Act - 1992

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Today there is a growing number of courses teaching Auslan as a second language, from an elective language subject offered by some secondary schools to a 2-year full-time diploma at TAFE.

Related Topics:
Second language - TAFE

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Though becoming more and more visible, Auslan is still rarely seen at public events or on television; there are, for example, no interpreted news services. There is a regular program on community television station Channel 31 in Melbourne, "Deaf TV", which is entirely in Auslan and is produced by deaf volunteers.

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