Kenyan Sign Language
Encyclopedia
Kenyan Sign Language is the language of the Deaf community in Kenya, used throughout the country by over half the country's estimated Deaf population of 600,000.
There are some dialect differences between Kisumu
(western Kenya) and Mombasa
(eastern Kenya).
As well as Kenyan Sign Language, a number of other languages have been used in Kenya by foreign educators: Belgian Sign Language
(in one school only), British Sign Language
(in one school only) and American Sign Language
(Gallaudet world FAQ), KIE Signed English and even Korean Sign Language
(Ethnologue report). It is probable that students in these schools use a form of KSL regardless.
A manual alphabet exists mainly from the American Sign Language manual alphabet. However the British manual alphabet was used in the early years.
as national and official Languages alongside English
and Swahili
.
Interpreters are rarely available, and usually 'unqualified' uncertified due to the lack of a training program/certification process.
a)To secure official recognition by the Government of S.L Interpreters profession
b)Encourage and promote initiatives in improving the standards of SL interpreting and interpreter training and pay scale of interpreters depending with their level and skills of interpretation through
certification.
c)Cooperation with other recognized bodies concerned in the welfare of the deaf and in provision of S.L Interpreters throughout the world.
d)Awareness creation on Deafness and SL. Interpreters through publication of information materials
e)To collect and raise funds for the achievement of goals and objectives through membership fee, subscription, contribution, gifts or donations, commissions and payments, fund raising whether in money or otherwise from both members and non members.
f)To maintain and administer a registry of S.L Interpreters in Kenya, enforce a code of ethics and mediate conflict between the Interpreters and their clients.
KSLIA is working towards the establishment of a training program and a certification process for its membership. [KSLIA]http://www.kslia.blogspot.com envisions its role in a three pronged approach - the three C's - Certification of members, Continuing education for the practicing Interpreters and Conflict resolution through enforcement of the Code of Ethics.
Global Deaf Connection, Deaf Aid, and KSLIAhttp://www.kslia.blogspot.com have jointly organized a series of trainings aimed at developing a process to provide training, certification and continued professional development for Kenyan Interpreters.
KSL is not generally used in the classrooms of Kenya's 35 residential boarding school
s for deaf students, despite it being their main language, and reportedly literacy in English and Swahili
is very low among the deaf community. Since the first deaf schools were established in the 1960s, the teaching staff rarely (if ever) included a deaf person, until a government program in the 1990s (spearheaded by the Kenya National Association of the Deaf) saw two deaf individuals trained and employed as teachers. However, the program is now continued by Global Deaf Connection chaired by Nickson Kakiri. It is based at Machakos Teachers College.
.
The [Kenyan Sign Language Interpreters Association] KSLIA is a national, non governmental, Society formed and managed by Kenyan Interpreters to promote the development of the Interpreting profession in Kenya and to provide quality Interpretation services for Deaf Kenyans. It was established in September 2000. KSLIA is working on becoming a member of WASLI World Association of Sign Language Interpreters.
and Kenya Christian School for the Deaf at Oyugis uses KSL as the language of instruction. Humble Hearts School is Kenya's first sign bilingual school where KSL and English are taught on an equal par. Kedowa School for the Deaf in Kericho District also uses KSL for instruction, and is unique among Deaf schools in Kenya in that more than half of the teachers at the school are Deaf themselves.
There are some dialect differences between Kisumu
Kisumu
Kisumu is a port city in western Kenya at , with a population of 355,024 . It is the third largest city in Kenya, the principal city of western Kenya, the immediate former capital of Nyanza Province and the headquarters of Kisumu County. It has a municipal charter but no city charter...
(western Kenya) and Mombasa
Mombasa
Mombasa is the second-largest city in Kenya. Lying next to the Indian Ocean, it has a major port and an international airport. The city also serves as the centre of the coastal tourism industry....
(eastern Kenya).
As well as Kenyan Sign Language, a number of other languages have been used in Kenya by foreign educators: Belgian Sign Language
Flemish Sign Language
Flemish Sign Language is the language used by signers in Flanders, which is the northern part of Belgium, a country in Western Europe...
(in one school only), British Sign Language
British Sign Language
British Sign Language is the sign language used in the United Kingdom , and is the first or preferred language of some deaf people in the UK; there are 125,000 deaf adults in the UK who use BSL plus an estimated 20,000 children. The language makes use of space and involves movement of the hands,...
(in one school only) and American Sign Language
American Sign Language
American Sign Language, or ASL, for a time also called Ameslan, is the dominant sign language of Deaf Americans, including deaf communities in the United States, in the English-speaking parts of Canada, and in some regions of Mexico...
(Gallaudet world FAQ), KIE Signed English and even Korean Sign Language
Korean Sign Language
Korean Sign Language or KSL is the deaf sign language of Korea.The beginnings of KSL date from 1889.The first primary school for deaf children, opened in 1908, used KSL....
(Ethnologue report). It is probable that students in these schools use a form of KSL regardless.
A manual alphabet exists mainly from the American Sign Language manual alphabet. However the British manual alphabet was used in the early years.
Status and recognition
KSL currently has no legal status, but there is a proposal that Kenyan Sign Language (KSL) and Braille should be recognized in the country's new constitutionConstitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
as national and official Languages alongside English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and Swahili
Swahili language
Swahili or Kiswahili is a Bantu language spoken by various ethnic groups that inhabit several large stretches of the Mozambique Channel coastline from northern Kenya to northern Mozambique, including the Comoro Islands. It is also spoken by ethnic minority groups in Somalia...
.
Interpreters are rarely available, and usually 'unqualified' uncertified due to the lack of a training program/certification process.
Kenya Sign Language Interpreters Association
Kenya Sign Language Interpreters Associationhttp://www.kslia.blogspot.com was set up by a group of 20 local interpreters after a training by the first Deaf Education US Peace Corps Volunteers in September 2000. Prior to this training there were several short term trainings conducted by KSLRP/KNAD dating back to 1980s and 1990s. [KSLIA]http://www.kslia.blogspot.com is an indigenous initiative evolving and strengthening the face of the Interpreting profession in Kenya. [KSLIA]http://www.kslia.blogspot.com hopes to improve and elevate the standards of Interpreting in Kenya through the following objectives:a)To secure official recognition by the Government of S.L Interpreters profession
b)Encourage and promote initiatives in improving the standards of SL interpreting and interpreter training and pay scale of interpreters depending with their level and skills of interpretation through
certification.
c)Cooperation with other recognized bodies concerned in the welfare of the deaf and in provision of S.L Interpreters throughout the world.
d)Awareness creation on Deafness and SL. Interpreters through publication of information materials
e)To collect and raise funds for the achievement of goals and objectives through membership fee, subscription, contribution, gifts or donations, commissions and payments, fund raising whether in money or otherwise from both members and non members.
f)To maintain and administer a registry of S.L Interpreters in Kenya, enforce a code of ethics and mediate conflict between the Interpreters and their clients.
KSLIA is working towards the establishment of a training program and a certification process for its membership. [KSLIA]http://www.kslia.blogspot.com envisions its role in a three pronged approach - the three C's - Certification of members, Continuing education for the practicing Interpreters and Conflict resolution through enforcement of the Code of Ethics.
Global Deaf Connection, Deaf Aid, and KSLIAhttp://www.kslia.blogspot.com have jointly organized a series of trainings aimed at developing a process to provide training, certification and continued professional development for Kenyan Interpreters.
Dictionaries and Education
A Kenyan Sign Language dictionary was published in 1991. KSLRP working with Peace Corp Volunteers have recently developed an interactive digital dictionary ([KSL Interactive]http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=learn.whatlike.interactivefeatures.ksl)KSL is not generally used in the classrooms of Kenya's 35 residential boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
s for deaf students, despite it being their main language, and reportedly literacy in English and Swahili
Swahili language
Swahili or Kiswahili is a Bantu language spoken by various ethnic groups that inhabit several large stretches of the Mozambique Channel coastline from northern Kenya to northern Mozambique, including the Comoro Islands. It is also spoken by ethnic minority groups in Somalia...
is very low among the deaf community. Since the first deaf schools were established in the 1960s, the teaching staff rarely (if ever) included a deaf person, until a government program in the 1990s (spearheaded by the Kenya National Association of the Deaf) saw two deaf individuals trained and employed as teachers. However, the program is now continued by Global Deaf Connection chaired by Nickson Kakiri. It is based at Machakos Teachers College.
Sign language organisations
The Kenya National Association of the Deaf (KNAD) is a national non-governmental organisation formed and managed by Deaf people. It was established in 1986 and registered in 1987 under the Societies Act; KNAD is also an ordinary member of the World Federation of the DeafWorld Federation of the Deaf
The World Federation of the Deaf is an international non-governmental organization that acts as a peak body for national associations of Deaf people, with a focus on Deaf people who use sign language and their family and friends...
.
The [Kenyan Sign Language Interpreters Association] KSLIA is a national, non governmental, Society formed and managed by Kenyan Interpreters to promote the development of the Interpreting profession in Kenya and to provide quality Interpretation services for Deaf Kenyans. It was established in September 2000. KSLIA is working on becoming a member of WASLI World Association of Sign Language Interpreters.
Sign Bilingual Schools
Humble Hearts School in Nairobi, Kisii School for the DeafKisii School for the Deaf
Kisii School for Deaf Children is Kenya's only deaf-run and deaf-led school for deaf children. Founded by Peter Ogango, the school is based in Kisii town, the capital of Kisii County in southwestern Kenya....
and Kenya Christian School for the Deaf at Oyugis uses KSL as the language of instruction. Humble Hearts School is Kenya's first sign bilingual school where KSL and English are taught on an equal par. Kedowa School for the Deaf in Kericho District also uses KSL for instruction, and is unique among Deaf schools in Kenya in that more than half of the teachers at the school are Deaf themselves.
External links
- 1996 interview with Simeon Ogolla, former president of the Kenya Association of the Deaf.
- Sahaya.org HIV/AIDS education program using Kenyan Sign Language. This site contains lots of useful information as well as photos of the Kenyan Deaf community.
- http://www.kslia.blogspot.com Kenyan Sign Language Interpreters Association - KSLIA. Official blogspot with information on Kenyan Interpreters and Interpreter issues.
- Report from a US volunteer visiting Kenya to work with the Deaf community through an NGO.
- Demonstration of KSL CD developed by Peace Corps Volunteers working in Kenya.
- KSL HIV/AIDS SmartQUIZ - Computer based interactive KSL HIV/AIDS quiz, developed by Peace Corps Volunteers working in Kenya
- Easy to Learn KSL Poster - Easy To Learn Kenyan/Zambian Sign Language poster, developed by Peace Corps Volunteers working in Kenya