A video project aimed at giving the Deaf community better access to information on Covid-19 was launched by the Stellenbosch University (SU) linguistics department on 19 February.
This project was started by Vanessa Reyneke, a project coordinator for the SU linguistics department, and Stephanie Lotz, a South African Sign Language (SASL) signer and content creator for the project, according to an SU press release. Reyneke is involved in the development of learning and teaching support material in SASL.
“We were aware of cases where Deaf people were doing things that placed their lives and those of others in danger because they were not aware of what the right thing would be to do, due to the barriers to information,” said Reyneke.
The project was initiated after several members of the Deaf community requested that their need for information be addressed, according to the SU press release.
The banner of the Facebook page on which videos providing Covid-19 information in South African Sign Language (SASL) are posted. It reads “Covid-19 Coronavirus in SASL”. PHOTO: COVID-19 in SASL Facebook page.
“We would like to see that this project reaches every Deaf individual in the community, and that they would feel and be safer during this pandemic,” said Reyneke.
The project involves collecting information on Covid-19 and translating it into SASL, according to Reyneke. Participants record themselves signing this information and the resultant videos are uploaded to a community Facebook page.
Stephanie Lotz, one of the people who started the project, is also a signer for the project’s videos. PHOTO: SU Press Release
“Without translation of important information into the only language fully accessible to them [SASL], members of the Deaf community are becoming increasingly vulnerable,” said Dr Frenette Southwood, a senior lecturer at the SU linguistics department, in the press release.
The first two phases of the project are funded by SU, according to Southwood. After the first two phases are complete, researchers hope that members of the private and public sector will support the continuation of the project through donations, she added.