Following a lifelong dream to teach and learn at a university, a Stellenbosch University (SU) student is on track to become the first *Deaf student to obtain a Master’s degree at SU.
This is according to Modiegi Njeyiyana, a student and lecturer at the General Linguistics department of SU who uses South African Sign Language as her first Language (SASL). Njeyiyana recently became the first SU student to submit the abstract of her thesis in SASL, and she will be the first ever Stellenbosch University Master’s graduate from the Deaf community.
“When I went to school, education failed me, but I just never gave up. I wanted to be a role model for other young Deaf individuals so that they can follow a similar path,” Njeyiyana told MatieMedia.
Njeyiyana submitted her thesis in English, but translated the abstract of the thesis into SASL and submited it in a video format. Through her achievement, Njeyiyana hopes to inspire Deaf people to be proud of their Deaf identity and language, she added.
One of the challenges that Modiegi Njeyiyana, a Deaf lecturer at Stellenbosch University (SU) faced with her Master’s research, was to translate her thesis from English to South African Sign Language (SASL). “Language was a barrier for me because sign language is my first language. So having to read academic English and research out there was really difficult,” according to Njeyiyana. PHOTO: Carla Visagie
Maryke van Velden, one of Njeyiyana’s friends and colleagues at the general linguistic’s department, said that Njeyiyana has a lot of patience and knows how to make a joke, even across language barriers.
“Modiegi shows me how it really looks to have grace with people, despite their limitations. She has an incredible amount of patience and she knows how to make the best out of any challenging situation,” according to Van Velden.
Marsanne Neethling (left), who was Modiegi Njeyiana’s interpreter throughout the research process, said that she really enjoyed learning with Njeyiyana. VIDEO: Carla Visagie
Njeyiyana’s research topic is titled “Lexical variation and change in SASL: A case study of a Western Cape school lect”, and it examines how sign language has changed at the Dominican Grimley School for the Deaf in Wynberg since its establishment in 1863.
“In 1863 the Dominican Grimley School was established by the Irish nuns, bringing their Irish sign language to South Africa to teach the Deaf children in Irish Sign Language. I wanted to see how this original school from the Irish influence had changed over the years,” said Njeyiyana.
Dr Kate Huddlestone, Njeyiyana’s supervisor, said there is a need for research about sign language, but specifically SASL.
“Any linguistics research on SASL contributes to legitimising SASL as a fully-fledged language alongside the official South African spoken languages and to empowering South African Deaf people through the acknowledgment of their language as a legitimate focus of linguistic research, especially when that research is undertaken by a member of the SA Deaf community,” said Huddlestone.
The research that was done by Modiegi Njeyiyana, the first Deaf student who will obtain a Master’s degree at Stellenbosch University, is now more relevant than ever before, because her research is being done during a time when the South African government is considering to make South African Sign Language (SASL) the twelfth official language of South Africa. This is according to Maryke van Velden, Njeyiyana’s colleague. If SASL is recognised as an official language, it will be a critical step to give Deaf South Africans the recognition they deserve, explained Van Velden. GRAPHIC SOURCE: Mirriam Ganiso GRAPHIC: Carla Visagie
*Deaf (capital D) refers to individuals who identify as part of the Deaf community and uses South African Sign Language as their first medium of instruction, according to Dr Marcia Lyner-Cleophas, head of the Stellenbosch University Disability Unit. The word “deaf” is used to describe anyone who has severe hearing problems, according to SignHealth, a non-profit organisation that promotes the health and wellbeing of Deaf people.
*This article was updated on 7 December.
In the original version, the article made reference to Marsanne Selzer, while it should be Marsanne Neethling.
The article originally stated that Njeyiyana “translated the abstract of the thesis into sign language”, but it should state that Njeyiyana “translated the abstract of the thesis into South African Sign Language (SASL)”.