HomePublicationsSoundscape: February 2007

Soundscape: February 2007

Some of the items featured in the February 2007 issue of ‘Soundscape’:

  • A documentary, “Signs of the Times” is now available on DVD; it is about Deaf New Zealanders who fought to have their language recognised as a real language.
  • Oticon Foundation Grant Recipients 2006.
  • Deaf Organisations
  • TV/Media

Can you help?

Karen Pullar
Karen Pullar
Paul Wolffram
Paul Wolffram
Victoria Manning
Victoria Manning

Relevant Links

Taonga source:
Oticon Foundation
Reference number:
SignDNA – Deaf National Archive New Zealand, OF2007-02-MJN
Copyright status:
This work is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
Note:
This item has been compressed and/or edited.

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Documentaries

Documentaries are a powerful tool for drawing attention to a particular issue, explaining a significant time in history, or celebrating an achievement. Special mention should go to Joan Bailey, who pioneered Deaf documentary making in New Zealand, and whose work you can view in this section.
2014
article – Taonga source: The Dominion

Fewer Kiwis can use sign language

James Whale can speak as well as any 5-year old but sometimes he lets his hand do the talking. The Wellington boy and his family are among the dwindling number of Kiwis who can use NZSL.
2022
article – Taonga source: The Northern Advocate

Te Wiki o te Reo Māori – Māori Language Week: Deaf Northlander Eddie Hokianga

Deaf Northlander Eddie Hokianga was on a troubled trajectory in life until he got his hands on te reo and connected with his Māori culture. Hokianga (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngā Puhi, Ngāti Porou) and Kim Robinson of Deaf Action New Zealand are delivering a groundbreaking initiative in the form of an eight-week course to be held, ideally, across 20 Northland marae.
The Northern Advocate
2023
article – Taonga source: NZ Herald.

Whaikaha the first ministry with a name in all of NZ’s official languages

Whaikaha – Ministry of Disabled People has become the first and only government ministry with a name in all three of New Zealand’s official languages.
NZ Herald.
1989
article – Taonga source: Wellington Deaf Society

Sign language boost

Research on the complex sign language that deaf New Zealanders have created could push education authorities to recognise the language's authenticity. It has taken an American linguist to document the distinctive language.
Wellington Deaf Society
2006
publication – Taonga source: Oticon Foundation

Soundscape: February 2006

Oticon Foundation
1993
article – Taonga source: City Voice

Deaf viewers ask for a hand

People who can hear as well as see 'Reasonable Doubts' (TV3, 9.50pm Saturdays) might be surprised to learn that Deaf New Zealanders can understand deaf lawyer Tessa Kaufman’s sign language little better than they can. ASL, used by Deaf actor Marlee Matlin, is a foreign language here. My Deaf friends give it the thumbs up. But the failure of television in New Zealand to provide anything in NZSL is described as “a running sore” by Hilary McCormack.
1993
article – Taonga source: Contact

Hands says it all

Kevin Stokes wishes more people spoke his language. He would also like to see it recognised, as New Zealand's third official language, alng with English and Maori.
2006
video – Taonga source: Handmade Productions Aotearoa

Sign of the Times: The Story of New Zealand’s Visual Language

In April 2006, New Zealand Parliament declared NZSL to be an official language - the culmination of a 20-year battle by the deaf community, and a true hallmark in the recognition of their native language. 'Sign of the Times' is about the deaf New Zealanders who fought to have their language recognised as a real language and as a viable means of communication. The film documents the community's celebration of the official recognition of their language and looks at the community's ongoing hopes and aspirations for their language and culture.
Handmade Productions Aotearoa
1977
article – Taonga source: Sarah Cameron

Success Story

The smile tells the story of the latest development in hearing aids, as 10-year-old Christoph Blum of Karori communicates with his mother.
Sarah Cameron
1993
video – Taonga source: Television New Zealand Archive

Sounds or Silence?

In the early 1990s, due to a breakthrough in technology, cochlear implants were starting to become the norm. The Deaf community worldwide viewed cochlear implants as a device that disregarded the need for access to sign language. Others considered such devices a miracle. In 1993, ‘60 Minutes’ investigated this controversial topic in New Zealand.
Television New Zealand Archive