New campaign for Indonesian sign language
New campaign for Indonesian sign language
JAKARTA (JP): A campaign to popularize the of use of sign
language opened yesterday for the benefit of the deaf and mute.
The Ministry of Education and Culture launched the first ever
Bahasa Indonesia sign language which is expected to become the
standard system to be used nationwide.
Minister Wardiman Djojonegoro, during the book's launching
ceremony, also appealed to state and private television networks
to start using sign language simultaneously in their news
broadcast as part of the campaign.
The appeal was quickly put into effect, at least by the state-
owned TVRI network, in its afternoon news broadcast yesterday. A
translator seated next to the broadcaster was seen 'translating'
the spoken news into sign language.
The government also plans to encourage ordinary schools to
adopt the language and start integrating deaf students. Currently
these students go to special schools for the handicaps.
The new dictionary, prepared by a team in the Ministry of
Education and Culture, contains 1,900 words but officials said it
would be expanded continuously.
It was constructed around the American Sign Language which was
first introduced in Indonesia in 1979 by Mrs. Baron Sutadisastra
to replace the lip reading method which was commonly used in many
schools.
The new sign language was superior because it adopted the
concept of total communication, which also encompassed writing
and reading, for more effective communication.
Sign language is now widely used at schools for handicaps in
many parts of Indonesia but they each use different standards,
mostly following the American system.
Wardiman said the book would allow handicapped people to have
the same opportunities to get an education, especially now that
the government is aggressively promoting the nine-year compulsory
schooling.
"This will help handicapped get an education and broaden their
perspectives" he said in the speech which was translated into
sign language by Iin Masliah, a teacher from Zinniya school for
the handicaps in South Jakarta.
Zinniya and many other similar schools have developed their
own sign languages and taught it to teachers, pupils, their
relatives and friends to promote communication with the deaf.
Last year, the Directorate General for Basic Education of the
Ministry of Education and Culture began the work to produce a
standard dictionary.
Director of Basic Education Djauzak Achmad said the first
copies of the dictionary would be sent out to libraries and
schools for the handicaps all over Indonesia.
Djauzak said the ministry will start encouraging more state
schools to open its doors to the deaf and mute.
"The handicap students will be helped by special instructors,
and the ministry will train them. Hopefully this year there will
be mixed schools in every province," he said. Currently, such
mixed schools already exist in certain cities in Java, Jambi, and
Lampung.
One of the members of the team that produced the dictionary is
deaf, to give the other team members a chance gauge the
effectiveness of the new sign language in practice.
Diah Pitaloka graduated from the School of Literature of the
University of Indonesia majoring in French literature. He on hand
to explain her experience to reporters yesterday.
"I had to ask for a special tutor when I was in school,
because I could not follow the course in the language laboratory.
To communicate I read lips," Diah said when asked how she managed
to study in the university. She graduated from SMA 70 high school
in South Jakarta before entering the university.
She said that she cannot speak using sign language but was
eager to learn because it could be useful and easier to
communicate with other people. (01)