Sri Lanka
From AASL
| Name of the country/area | Sri Lanka |
|---|---|
| Formal name of the country/area | Domocratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka |
| Country/area information | The World Factbook (CIA) |
| Wikipedia (English) |
Indigenous signs for "Sri Lanka"
Movies
Sign of country name "Sri Lanka" (Data offered by Deaf informants in Sri lanka; movie made by Japan Institute for Sign Language Studies)
Illustrations in the literature
"Sri Lanka" (In: Japanese Federation of the Deaf ed. Supervisor: Hedberg, Tomas. 2003. Country name-signs. Helsinki, Finland: World Federation of the Deaf. 14.)
Spoken languages
Sinhala
Tamil
Sign languages
Population of Deaf/deaf people
- 12,800 deaf persons (Van Cleve 1986). Ethnologue web edition
- The National Government’s official number of Deaf people : 73,343. (WFD. 2008. Global Survey Report. : See Bibliography below.)
Legal status of sign languages
- Status of the National Sign Language(s) from WFD. 2008. Global Survey Report. (See Bibliography below).
1. The government recognises the country's sign language(s) in : the Constitution and Policy.
2. The year when the country’s government formally recognises the country’s sign language(s): Constitution - 1978, National Disability Policy – 2002.
3. Deaf Association/Deaf Group lobbies the government for the recognition of the country’s sign language(s)
Organizations and associations of the Deaf/deaf
Sri Lanka Central Federation of the Deaf (CFD) (WFD member; established in 1984. (WFD. 2008. Global Survey Report. : See Bibliography below.) )
Institutes, associations and universities for sign language studies
Education for the deaf
- Access to Education from WFD. 2008. Global Survey Report. (See Bibliography below).
1.The government recognizes that Deaf children and Deaf students have the right to receive an education.
2.Legislation or policies on Deaf Education:
- 2003 - Under People with a Disability - National Policy
3.The government provides those educational settings for Deaf children and Deaf students:
- Primary (From 5/6 years old to 12/13 years old)
- Secondary (From 12/13 years old to 17/18 years old)
- Vocational Education/Training
4.The government provides bilingual education using the country’s sign language(s) for Deaf children and Deaf students in those educational settings:
- Primary (From 5/6 years old to 12/13 years old)
- Secondary (From 12/13 years old to 17/18 years old)
- Vocational Education/Training
5.Total number of schools specifically for Deaf children and Deaf students in the country, and the educational approach for communicating with Deaf children and students at the Deaf School:
- 19 Schools
- Oral Method
- Oral and Sign Language (Total Communication)
6.Deaf people’s access to a University education and sign language interpreting services at University:
- Although the possibility to access University is present, there are no facilities to support it. One particular Deaf person could succeed in entering University, but not all Deaf can.
- No sign language interpreting service.
Sign language interpretation
- Status of Sign Language Interpreting Services from WFD. 2008. Global Survey Report. (See Bibliography below).
1.The number of sign language interpreters in the country:
- 3 Interpreters
2. Sign language interpreting qualifications.
- None
4. The number of sign language interpreters who have formal interpreting qualifications in the country:
- We believe three official sign language interpreters.
5.The way Deaf people access sign language interpreters:
- Through individual approach to the National Association (CFD) and Social Service Departments.
6.The provider of the sign language interpreting services:
- Government
- National Association of the Deaf
7.The area of life sign language interpreting services are available:
- Social Services
- Health/Medical Services
- Employment Services
- Court Services
- Counselling Services
- Funerals/Weddings
8.The payment for interpreting services, and those who are responsible for paying:
- Sign language interpreters receive payment for interpreting services
- National Association of the Deaf/Deaf Group pays
- Deaf people pay
9.The average hourly rate of payment for sign language interpreters:
- Payment for a half day is LKR500/- (3.14€ on 31st January 2008) and for a day LKR1000/- (6.28€ on 31st January 2008)
10.National Association of Sign Language Interpreters:
- None
11.National Code of Ethics for sign language interpreters:
- There is.
12.Legislation or policy in the country which states that the government has a responsibility for the provision of sign language :
- The National Policy on Disability 2003
- Data on sign language interpretation in this country collected in 2006 by a similar questionnaire research by WASLI are in the WASLI Newsletter 2007 issue six (See Bibliography below).
1. The sign language in the country :
- British Sign Language, Local Sign Language
2. Spoken languages:
- Sinhala, English
Deaf communities and cultures
Religious activities by the Deaf
Famous Deaf persons and hearing persons concerned with sign languages
Sign language dictionaries
D.M.Wickramasinghe ed. 1989. Sri Lankan Sign Dictionary. Maharagama, Sri Lanka: National Institute of Education.
Bibliography
Hettiarachchi, Shyamani and N. Moroney. 2013. The effectiveness of the whole-class ‘Box Clever’ language enrichment approach on vocabulary and narrative skills development in children with hearing difficulties in Sri Lanka. Poster presentation at the International Conference on Sign Linguistics and Deaf Education in Asia, 2013, 30 January – 2 February 2013. The Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Hettiarachchi, Shyamani and Mahishi Ranaweera. 2013. The use of the whole-class Colourful Semantics approach with children experiencing hearing loss in Sri Lanka. Presentation at the International Conference on Sign Linguistics and Deaf Education in Asia, 2013, 30 January – 2 February 2013. The Chinese University of Hong Kong.
World Federation of the Deaf and Swedish National Association of the Deaf. 2008. Global Survey Report. WFD Regional Secretariat for Asia and the Pacific (WFD RSA/P). Global Education Pre-Planning Project on the Human Rights of Deaf People. World Federation of the Deaf. Finland.
WASLI (World Association of Sign Language Interpreters ). 2007. WASLI Newsletter 2007 Issue 6 Kampala, Uganda.
Markar, Farah Macan. 2003, Aug. 3. Voice from a silent world. Sunday Observer.
Tesni S. 1998. Service provision for children with deafness and hearing impairment in South India and Sri Lanka. In: Immanuel, P., C. Koenig and S. Tesni. eds. Listening to Sounds and Signs. Trends in deaf education and communication. 177-192.
J.S. David. 1994. Deaf awareness program : A suggestion. In: Carol J. Erting, Robert C. Johnson, Dorothy L. Smith and Bruce D. Snider eds. The Deaf Way. Perspectives from the International Conference on Deaf Culture. Washington, D.C.: Gallaudet University Press. 702-705.
J.S. David. 1987. Sri Lanka In: Van Cleve, John V. (editor in chief), Gallaudet College eds. Gallaudet encyclopedia of deaf people and deafness. New York : McGraw-Hill. vol.3. 237-241.
Schroeder, Odd-Inge. 1986. Tegnsprog og de doves forhold på Sri Lanka. Døves tidskrift, v.38.
Wijesekera, N.. D. 1945. Sign language in ancient Ceylon. In : Man. 45: (No. 33) 46-47.
Wright, John Dutton. 1926. Schools for the Deaf in the Orient. In : Volta Review.28: 49-52. [Subsequent articles on pp. 348-355; 415-417; 593-595; 769-770; report on South Asian schools.(includs Philippines, Japan, Burma(Myanmar), India and Ceylon(Sri Lanka))
Ammal, Devanesam. 1909. [Letter by D. Ammal, headmistress, Florence Swainson School.] In: MS Smith (1915) C.E.Z.M.S.(Church of England Zenana Missionary Society) Work among the Deaf in India & Ceylon. 5.
Researchers
History of sign language research
Events
Links
Sign Languages in Asia: Sri Lanka (Data offered by Deaf informants in Sri lanka; movies made by Japan Institute for Sign Language Studies)
Deaf cultures and Sign Languages of the world: Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan Sign Language Dictionary
Notes
| Asia (general) | Asia (general) |
|---|---|
| East Asia | China | Japan | Mongolia | North Korea | South Korea |
| Southeast Asia | Brunei | Cambodia | East Timor | Indonesia | Laos | Malaysia | Myanmar | Philippines | Singapore | Thailand | Vietnam |
| South Asia | Bangladesh | Bhutan | India | Maldives | Nepal | Pakistan | Sri Lanka |
| West Asia | Afghanistan |
| Areas and others | Hong Kong | Macau | Taiwan |
