New rules for sign language

Meaningful gestures towards equality - 21st February 2022

A bill that proposes legally recognising British Sign Language (BSL) as an official UK language is being backed by the British government. If it reaches the statute book, it will compel the government to follow additional guidelines for BSL, such as forming a British Sign Language Council to promote the language and give advice on its use.

Pushing for BSL equality, deaf actor and Strictly Come Dancing star Rose Ayling-Ellis argued: "If I go to the doctor and there's no interpreter, it means I have to bring a family member with me. But I don't want that, I want privacy."

Introducing the bill to the House of Commons from the opposition benches, Labour's Rosie Cooper MP argued it offered "a clear message" that the deaf community "deserve equal access".

Through moments from Cooper's own childhood, MPs glimpsed how children of deaf parents grew up with the weight of extra burdens – which included four year old Cooper booking the family holiday. They illustrated the plight of many children, as Cooper stated that many young people had to "shoulder the responsibility well beyond their years, and that's not fair".

Urging MPs to support her legislation, she said: "For every deaf person like my parents, who've been ignored, misunderstood, or even treated as unintelligent for simply relying on BSL, this recognition will be a clear message that their language is equal and should be treated as equal."

Currently, 41 countries count sign language among their official languages, with 26 of those in Europe. While up to 250,000 people use some BSL daily according to figures from the British Deaf Association, at present Scotland's the only UK nation to recognise it as an official language.

The British Deaf Association's chair, David Buxton, was upbeat about the bill's prospects: "Deaf people in Britain never gave up hope that their language would one day be not only recognised in law, but also protected and promoted, so that deaf people are finally able to access information and services and achieve their potential on an equal basis with their fellow hearing citizens."