The modern NZSL dictionary is launched

1997
  • Deaf Education
  • Sign Language
  • TV/Media
The modern dictionary of New Zealand Sign Language has been launched, and the 'Tonight' crew visit Kelston Deaf Education Centre to see Deaf students and their NZSL tutors making good use of the resource.

The Tonight crew visit Kelston Deaf Education Centre to see Deaf students and their NZSL tutors making good use of the new NZSL Dictionary recently launched.

NZSL tutor, Pam Croskery explains her methods of creating and sharing NZSL resources with the students’ families: filming herself signing NZSL vocabulary, making videotape copies and giving the tapes to the students to take home and share with their families. This is a time-consuming process, so Pam and the other NZSL tutors are pleased to see the publication of the NZSL dictionary which will make NZSL more readily & widely accessible. We see that there are two ways to use the dictionary: by looking up the English word, or looking up the handshape.

Graeme Kennedy (the editor of the dictionary) speaks of his hope that the dictionary will enable more Deaf people to realise their potential in education. He also speaks of the oral method of education, believing it to be almost impossible for a young student to learn through a purely oral method if they do not know that language (English). He also says that while developing the dictionary, they found the users of NZSL swore like users of spoken languages so they included swear words in the dictionary.

Original format:
VIDEOTAPE BETACAM SP COLOUR CASSETTE
Reference number:
TVNZ40-01-TV97