Harmonised Ghanaian sign language dictionary introduced

Hearing-impaired learners in the country now have a common dictionary of harmonised sign language.

Known as the Harmonised Ghanaian Sign Language Dictionary, it would enable them to use the same sign language syntax to communicate.

Prior to the development of the dictionary in 2021, sign language communication among the deaf community in the country differed from one part of the country to the other.

It was developed by the Special Education Division of the Ghana Education Service, in collaboration with UNICEF Ghana, the Ghana National Association for the Deaf, and the Peace Corps.

It took into consideration the different ways of communicating in sign language across the country.

An Education Officer of UNICEF Ghana, Rhoda Enchil, announced this at a media cafe organised by her outfit in Accra last Wednesday.

Significance

Ms Enchi described the introduction of the dictionary as a significant step, and that “gone are the days when you go to the deaf community or people who are deaf and see everyone using different  signs to communicate”.

“This was affecting literacy among deaf learners in our schools. It creates problems for learning, but now it has been harmonised and standardised,” she added.

Ms Enchil, who was making a presentation on inclusive education, said so far, teachers in all deaf schools in the country had been trained to use the dictionary.

She expressed the hope that once they had been exposed to it, they would let it reflect in their teaching at the classroom level.

Ms Enchil further explained that almost every country had its own way of using sign language, saying “When you go online, you will see the American sign language and the British sign language, among others”.

“But now, Ghana also has its harmonised sign language, that is acceptable for use,” she said.

Ms Enchil said periodically, the document would be reviewed to reflect emerging words.

Media cafe

The Chief of Advocacy and Communication of UNICEF Ghana, Fatma Naib, said the media cafe started in June, and that it was the third in a series.

She said it was aimed at offering journalists information on specific topics which ordinarily they would not be able to access.

Ms Naib expressed the hope that with the information provided, journalists were now empowered for children’s advocacy.

She said UNICEF Ghana and the UN as a whole, would also identify the issues and work with their partners to come out with solutions.