NZSL (New Zealand Sign Language) Week NZ
Here is a video clip – ‘NZSL Week – My Place, My Language’
Transcript from the video.
This week we, Deaf people celebrate our unique ‘NZSL’ – New Zealand sign language e because it is our first language than English or Māori Language. In this video, I, Jean is in Eureka which is my place in the rural area of Waikato. My second language is NZSL, but I was born deaf. Note: there is no voice sound, only the traffic noise. Transcript from the video.
Hello, my name is Jean and fingerspell J E A N. My old NZSL as a pair of ‘jeans’. Where am I? I am in Eureka and showed you my sign of Eureka as in the meaning of discovering our rural local when a group of men found a place for the headquarter here after the Māori Wars in Waikato. My place, here and there as in the rural area. What happening this week? Deaf people in the Deaf community celebrate our NZSL this week. Come and learn our NZSL so we can communicate with te each other. Thank you.
In New Zealand, every May we, Deaf people celebrate our NZSL to the community around the cities and the rural towns. Many MPs’, the mayors of their own town/cities and councillors joined with us in sign language through Facebook. It is an excellent opportunity for them to share with us and to encourage other people to learn about our sign language. Our Prime Minister – Jacinda Ardern signed a snippet video to challenge any other leaders through Deaf Aotearoa Facebook.
Tomorrow morning, I am heading out to the Hamilton Central Library, and there is a small group of young people with disabilities and their support workers in the class. They have been learning to communicate in sign language over many years.
