Singapore Sign Language Interpretation Services for Significant Government Live TV Broadcasts
Ministry of Social and Family DevelopmentSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns the provision of Singapore Sign Language (SgSL) interpretation for significant live broadcasts, the official recognition of SgSL, and support for instruction and interpreters. Senior Parliamentary Secretary Eric Chua stated that since 2020, major national broadcasts have included SgSL interpretation, and the Government is working with Mediacorp to further enhance accessibility on free-to-air channels. He highlighted that designated schools and institutes of higher learning provide SgSL support, while the Singapore Association for the Deaf is funded to offer instruction and access services. Financial assistance for sign language fees is also available through the Temasek-Trust CDC Lifelong Learning Enabling Fund to support community training and access services. Finally, Senior Parliamentary Secretary Eric Chua noted that the Government is currently studying the official recognition of SgSL in consultation with the community to identify tangible benefits.
Transcript
16 Mr Ong Hua Han asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) whether the Ministry will consider providing Singapore Sign Language (SgSL) interpretation services during significant Government live TV broadcasts; (b) when will SgSL receive official recognition as one of Singapore’s languages given its legal status in 77 countries as a sign-language used by the deaf; and (c) whether there are plans to increase support for SgSL instruction providers and to increase the number of SgSL interpreters.
The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Social and Family Development (Mr Eric Chua) (for the Minister for Social and Family Development): Mr Speaker, since April 2020, the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) has required TV broadcasts of significant national and public interest, such as National Day Rally and Budget speeches, to be accompanied by Singapore Sign Language (SgSL) interpretation. MCI will continue to make Government communications and information more accessible and inclusive to the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing community, and work with Mediacorp to enhance accessibility features on free-to-air (FTA) TV channels.
For students who require signing support in schools, SgSL is the language for academic instruction and communication. The Ministry of Education (MOE) has designated mainstream and special education schools to provide signing support in SgSL for students diagnosed with hearing loss. Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) have funds to support students diagnosed with hearing loss, including sign language interpretation services.
In the community, the Singapore Association for the Deaf (SADeaf) is funded to promote the use of SgSL and to provide deaf access services, which include SgSL interpretation, note-taking services, and sign language courses. Deaf and hard-of-hearing persons can also tap on the Temasek-Trust CDC Lifelong Learning Enabling Fund to pay for their sign language class fees and deaf access services when attending training courses by selected providers.
The Government is studying the recognition of SgSL as Singapore’s official sign language, in consultation with the Deaf community. As SgSL is currently already used in practice, we need to consider how official recognition will bring tangible benefits to the Deaf community. Instead, we will continue to work with the Deaf community to improve the provision of deaf access services to the community.