Over the coming weeks Crasborn will set a good example himself. On the site www.gebarentaalinelkklaslokaal.nl schools can register for a sign language lesson in the classroom for pupils aged 7 to 14 years old. “We wanted to do this on the day of my speech at one school in Nijmegen, but now we have more than thirty classes in the whole of the Netherlands taking part”, according to Crasborn. Students can still register on the site.
Twelve thousand deaf people
Only a small group of about twelve thousand deaf people, and their family and professionals around them, currently use Dutch Sign Language. A lot of new information on this language has been gathered over the past twenty years, but the language itself has developed very little during this period. Crasborn now argues for a much wider use of the language. “But it’s a long-term project, ten years, as we need to raise awareness, but I’m convinced that learning sign language can benefit everyone.”
Just think of the 1.5 million hearing impaired, which includes a lot of older people, who could benefit from it. “For them the use of even a small amount of sign language would considerably improve their quality of life, the use of signing by themselves and their environment could make the difference between wanting and not wanting to go out to parties.” Noisy situations are difficult for someone who doesn’t hear well, but aren’t a problem for people who use sign language. Crasborn: “If we all communicated more visually, life could become a whole lot easier. Think, for example, of small content words like ‘coffee’, ‘tea’, ‘Are you coming?’”
Beyond language barriers
Moreover, the full command of sign language results in significant added value: it facilitates communication over language barriers. Not because sign language is universal, as that’s a myth. But because a good knowledge of sign language leads to communication skills that promote creativity in communication. In other words, sign language is more than a language: it is also a way of presenting the message to make it comprehensible for outsiders too.