WATCH: Miss Deaf SA finalist teaches us how to sign SA’s major cities
Nikita Pillay, who was commenting on the news that South African Sign Language (SASL) was declared as the 12th official language, said she felt so overwhelmed and overjoyed.
SOUTH African Sign Language (SASL) was declared as the 12th official language in the country recently when President Cyril Ramaphosa signed into law the South African Sign Language Bill during a ceremony at the Union Buildings in Pretoria.
The historic moment opened doors for the Deaf community in South Africa. We reached out to Durban resident and Miss Deaf SA finalist for 2023, Nikita Pillay, to find out how she is celebrating the news.
“I felt so overwhelmed and overjoyed. My Deaf community fought for sign language inclusion in SA’s Additional Language Law for many years, and we finally succeeded,” said Pillay.
She added that there are few differences between the Hearing and Deaf communities.
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“Hearing and Deaf cultures are identical – Deaf people simply lose their hearing and use sign language as their voice. Despite our differences, we are all still just people; we have become one community. More than 90% of deaf children are born to hearing parents, whether you are aware of this or not. I think that if Hearing and Deaf people collaborated, things would be different and the future of the next generation would be better,” said Pillay.
In this video clip, Pillay teaches us a few basic sign language phrases as well as the signs for South Africa’s major city names: Durban, Johannesburg and Cape Town:
Pillay hopes to see sign language being taught as a subject in schools and academic institutions.
“[Sign language] makes it simple to interact with persons who are Deaf, whether they be family members, neighbours, co-workers or anybody else who can be of assistance. Zulu, Afrikaans, and French are all taught in schools. In order to build better relationships with the more than four million Deaf or Hard of Hearing persons in South Africa, communication is essential. I believe that in order for employees to effectively communicate with Deaf people, they should take a brief training in sign language,” she said.
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Pillay faced several challenges growing up without hearing.
“It was difficult for me, but I overcame my insecurities and worry by accepting who I am and moving forward. I accomplish this by staying optimistic and not demeaning my impairment,” she said.
For Pillay, a common myth or misconception about the Deaf community is that ‘Deaf people are not as intelligent as people who can hear’.
“There is no connection between hearing and intelligence. Deaf persons are equally capable as those who can hear because the inability to hear has no impact on their intelligence or their physical capacity to study and carry out daily tasks,” said Pillay.
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