A LOCAL PERSPECTIVE

Why Deaf accessibility makes business sense

South Africa’s Deaf and hard-of-hearing community is deeply rooted within the nation’s linguistic landscape. This large population primarily represents Deaf people and people with hearing loss, as well as their families, South African Sign Language (SASL) interpreters, and other individuals who identify with Deaf culture. Despite the size of this community, it remains underrepresented in South African society, and the business sector in particular.

By Lize Spies, senior project manager at Folio Online.

With SASL on the fast track to becoming South Africa’s twelfth official language, it is now more pertinent than ever to recognise the potential of the Deaf workforce as well as the subsequent need for SASL interpreters to facilitate communication at business events and conferences. This will grant the Deaf community a crucial right that is currently overlooked by the broader society — linguistic access in the business sector.

The Deaf community of South Africa is well established, but insulated, and statistics regarding its members vary between credible sources. According to the South African National Deaf

Association, around four million South African citizens are either Deaf or hard of hearing. The 2011 census indicates that around 235,000 members of the community use SASL as their first language. Even though not all Deaf citizens are SASL users, the visibility and status of this language is essential in the fight for Deaf recognition and accessibility, in business and beyond.

Deafness is an invisible disability to the broader society. However, the hearing community’s largely unintentional ignorance of Deaf culture hinders efforts to improve the community’s access to information, resources (such as interpreters) and even jobs. This lack of awareness has resulted in Deaf citizens being restricted, not only in terms of social interaction, but also with regard to their participation in professional spheres, and basic rights, such as freedom of speech.

The United Nations has proposed that the linguistic and cultural identities of people with disabilities should be recognised in an equal capacity to people without disabilities. In realworld terms, this means that sign language and Deaf culture should be acknowledged and respected in the same way as other official languages and cultures. SASL’s burgeoning status as South Africa’s twelfth official language holds the potential to advance people’s understanding of the language and those who use it, which will increase Deaf individuals’ access to employment opportunities.

At present, South African commerce is missing out on a substantial pool of potential employees as the linguistic needs of the Deaf community are not catered for. Empowering the Deaf community by providing SASL interpreters is thus not only beneficial to the community itself, but to the industry at large, as increased employment opportunities translate into increased earning potential. This prospect of financial gain is too good to be missed.

Acquiring an SASL interpreter for a business event or conference is not for window dressing. Whereas speakers of other official languages understand English, the lingua franca of the business world, Deaf people do not have the option to utilise spoken languages. Their access to the business sector should thus be facilitated — and we, as professional language service providers, can assist.

My active collaboration with the Deaf community, through my work at Folio Online, has shown me that their social and economic upliftment is severely hampered without the assistance of qualified and accredited SASL interpreters. Providing SASL interpreters will break down communication barriers and open the business sector to the Deaf community. If businesses and Deaf organisations join forces, it will lead to training, upskilling, and employment opportunities for this community with untapped potential.

All South African businesses should strive for inclusivity of all South Africans, and the Deaf community cannot be excluded from this assertion. If we ignore this call to action, there is a great risk of losing not only potential business opportunities, but also the chance to learn from one another. The expense of an SASL interpreter pales in comparison to the gains of collaboration and the invaluable opportunity to broaden our horizons.

Who is Lize Spies ?

Lize Spies is a senior project manager at Folio Online. Beyond managing the established medical interpreting service, Folio InterTel, she is also responsible for the conference interpreting and voice-over portfolios. Despite her busy schedule, Lize is a passionate advocate of mother-tongue accessibility. Her years of collaboration with the Deaf community have given her insight into where the needs lie and where publicly available interpreting services fall short. Facilitating linguistic access is her ultimate goal and Folio Online is her avenue.