The use of fake sign language in parody news conferences by a school is disrespectful to Taiwan’s deaf community and culture, advocacy groups said yesterday.
The League of Persons with Disabilities said that the incidents began in May last year, when a school staged a parody of a COVID-19 pandemic news conference featuring a fake sign language interpreter at an online event.
Teachers and students playing the role of interpreters did not know any sign language and their motions were indecipherable to people with impaired hearing, it said.
Photo: Screen grab from YouTube
Sign language was recognized as a national language in January last year, the group said.
It is a visual language with its own vocabulary and syntax expressed by gestures, it said.
Using incorrect sign language for humorous effect is offensive to people who use it as their main mode of communicating, it said, adding that facial expressions denote the tone of a statement in sign language.
Sign interpreters need 460 hours of classroom instruction, 200 hours of practical exercise, and must obtain class B and C technician certificates to practice their trade, in addition to spot checks and 12 hours of advanced studies a year, the league added.
If schools want to promote sign language, they should hire real interpreters instead of butchering the language in such parodies, which have no educational value, it said.
People outside the community of hearing impaired people should be respectful and employ real interpreters in fictional performances that involve sign language, it said.
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