Sign language

Sign language is a language in its own, every country, region or community may have its own sign language.
While organising meetings where persons that are deaf or hard of hearing, the following will support to provide a good communication:

  • Get advices from local DPOs to identify the most relevant sign language for the context and to identify individual interpreters familiar with that sign language;
  • Prepare the sign language interpreter by discussing specific terminology or concept prior to the meeting / lesson / workshop;
  • Check regularly with the interpreter that your pace of speech is not too fast and agree to make appropriate pauses to enable them to keep up;
  • Sign language interpreters should be in front of the people they interpret for or well visible to them.
  • If you are producing videos or making awareness through performance or theatre, try to include sign language interpretation in videos or an interpreter during the performance. Always include subtitles in video messages.
Meeting with a sign language interpretation
©Julie Smith
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