{"id":301059,"date":"2023-08-02T04:04:41","date_gmt":"2023-08-02T02:04:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/sasl-enters-brave-new-era-20230801\/"},"modified":"2023-08-02T04:04:41","modified_gmt":"2023-08-02T02:04:41","slug":"sasl-enters-brave-new-era-20230801","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/sasl-enters-brave-new-era-20230801\/","title":{"rendered":"SASL enters brave new era"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The significance of making South African Sign Language (SASL) the 12th official language lies in a few exceptional milestones. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Firstly, South Africa becomes the first country in the world to recognise its national sign language as an official language in the country\u2019s Constitution. This is different from the current 11 countries that officially recognise their sign languages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Secondly, South Africa has become the seventh country in the world to recognise its national sign language as an official national language. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thirdly, it took SASL just as long to become an official language of the country, as was the case with South Africa\u2019s nine Sintu languages (Zulu, Sotho, etc.). These languages were first recognised officially at regional level in 1963, but were recognised alongside Afrikaans and English from the interim 1993 Constitution. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>SASL was granted official status from nowhere within 30 years. Incidentally, Afrikaans gained official status in 1925 \u2013 within 17 years after the 1909 Union Act was passed, recognising only English and Dutch as official languages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Three factors played a role in achieving these milestones. The whole disability issue, sustained pressure from an active Deaf lobby, and the active and decisive bottom-up actions by a string of role players. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The degree of political favour should certainly not be lost sight of either. Already in 1995, the ruling ANC wanted SASL to become an official language, and eventually submitted exactly such a proposal to the Constitutional Assembly. Even though the time was not ripe for this, the proposal resulted in SASL being declared an official language in the South African Schools Act of 1996 for the purposes of teaching and learning in public schools (note, not only deaf schools), the inclusion of \u201csign language\u201d [sic] in the constitutional language mandate of the Pan South African Language Board, and the granting of linguistic human rights to all South Africans, including the deaf, in terms of the Bill of Human Rights. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The further amplification of SASL in terms of the 18th Constitutional Amendment crowns this campaign, which goes back to the period of the birth of our democracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>International experts give three reasons why the officialisation of countries\u2019 national sign languages is significant: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li> It can help to ensure that deaf people have access to education, employment, and other services in their \u201cown language\u201d.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li> It can promote the use of sign languages in general, and also help to preserve the languages.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li> It can raise awareness about the so-called deaf culture and the contributions of the deaf.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This brings us to an important juncture \u2013 inclusivity and the promotion of sign language, since education is critical. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To date, the Schools Act has been enforced in such a way that SASL has mainly been taught in deaf schools as home language, while the law stipulates that it applies to all public schools. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A curriculum must be developed so that the language can also be taught as first and second additional language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li> Prof. Theodorus du Plessis is of the Department of South African Sign Language and Deaf Studies at the University of the Free State (UFS).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The significance of making South African Sign Language (SASL) the 12th official language lies in a few exceptional milestones.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":301060,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_linkdex":"","_yoast_wpseo_content_score":"","_yoast_wpseo_inclusive_language_score":"","_yoast_wpseo_is_cornerstone":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image-id":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image-id":"","newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","_crsspst_to_novanewscoza":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozacityvision":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozadistrictmailhelderberg":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaeikestadnuus":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozahermanustimes":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozakomani-karoo":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozakougaexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozamthathaexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozanoordkaapbulletin":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapaarlpost":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapeexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapeoplespost":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaswartlandgazette":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozatygerburger":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaudexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozavistanews":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozavrystaatkroon":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaweskusnuus":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaweslander":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaworcesterstandard":false,"_eb_attr":"","_EventAllDay":"","_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":"","_EventShowMapLink":"","_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":"","_EventVenueID":"","_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":"","_VenueShowMapLink":"","_application":"","_batch_id":"","_company_name":"","_company_tagline":"","_company_twitter":"","_company_video":"","_company_website":"","_custom_id":"1aa92ab9-d224-48c9-aa1f-ccc120ac1840","_EventDuration":"","_EventOrigin":"","_EventTimezoneAbbr":"","_featured":"","_filled":"","_job_expires":"","_job_location":"","_media_credit":"","_media_credit_url":"","_menu_item_menu_item_parent":"","_menu_item_object":"","_menu_item_object_id":"","_menu_item_target":"","_menu_item_type":"","_menu_item_url":"","_menu_item_xfn":"","_navis_media_can_distribute":"","_navis_media_credit_org":"","_OrganizerOrigin":"","_provider":"","_pum_built_in":"","_pum_default_theme":"","_pum_form_conversion_count":"","_remote_id":"","_remote_name":"","_remote_position":"","_report_frequency":"","_report_reference_dates":"","_send_attempts":"","_site_id":"","_sitemap_exclude":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","_sitemap_priority":"","_source_url":"","_subscription_period":"","_subscription_period_interval":"","_subscription_price":"","_tec_slr_enabled":"","_tec_slr_layout":"","_template_type":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_ticket_start_date":"","_tribe_aggregator_allow_multiple_organizers":"","_tribe_aggregator_content_type":"","_tribe_aggregator_file":"","_tribe_aggregator_finalized":"","_tribe_aggregator_hash":"","_tribe_aggregator_import_id":"","_tribe_aggregator_import_name":"","_tribe_aggregator_interactive":"","_tribe_aggregator_origin":"","_tribe_aggregator_post_status":"","_tribe_aggregator_preview":"","_tribe_aggregator_source_name":"","_tribe_aggregator_type":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_hide_attendees_list":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":"","_tribe_ticket_version":"","_type":"","_VenueOrigin":"","_wp_attachment_context":"","_wp_attachment_image_alt":"","_wp_font_face_file":"","_wp_old_date":"","_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":"","_yoast_wpseo_focuskeywords":"","_yoast_wpseo_focuskw_text_input":"","_yoast_wpseo_keywordsynonyms":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_block-catalog":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_job_listing_type":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_nova_retailer":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_publication":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_tribe_events_cat":"","_yoast_wpseo_videositemap-duration":"","_yoast_wpseo_videositemap-rating":"","_menu_item_classes":[],"_tribe_modified_fields":[],"_wp_attachment_backup_sizes":[],"_wp_suggested_privacy_policy_content":[],"_yoast_post_redirect_info":[],"_yoast_wpseo_video_meta":[],"activation_date":"","archive_insertion_is_repeating":"","archive_insertion_posts_count":"","article_feature_media":"","article_feature_type":"","article_main_image_caption":"","article_media_icon":"","article_template":"","author_byline":"","background_color":"","block_editor":"","byline":"","cmplz_hide_cookiebanner":"","competition_end_date":"","contact_advertise_email":"","contact_advertise_phone":"","contact_editorial_email":"","contact_general_email":"","contact_general_phone":"","contact_office_hours":"","contact_physical_address":"","enabled":"","featured_image_custom_caption":"","featured_video_url":"","fields":"","font_body":"","font_header":"","frequency":"","headline":"","hide_border":"","icon":"","is_wp_suggestion":"","issuu_download_url":"","issuu_embed_url":"","language_version_url":"","large_border":"","name":"","nm_contact_name":"","nm_contact_number":"","nm_date_lost":"","no_overlay_background":"","node-url":"","obituary_born_date":"","obituary_died_date":"","obituary_memoriam_text":"","origin":"","overlay_color":"","overlay_opacity":"","overlay_size":"","placement":"","plural_label":"","post_author":"","post_id":"","post_language":"en","secret-key":"","sponsored_utm_campaign":"","sponsored_utm_content":"","sponsored_utm_medium":"","sponsored_utm_source":"","sponsored_utm_term":"","start_date":"","utm_suppression":"","video_embed_url":"","wp_pattern_sync_status":"","data_version":[],"enclosure":[""],"pongrass_image":[""],"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_newspack_byline_active":false,"_newspack_byline":"","newspack_content_restriction_is_exempt":false,"scaip_prevent_shortcode_addition":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"publication":[],"class_list":["post-301059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.8 (Yoast SEO v27.8) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>SASL enters brave new era | BloemNews Express<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/sasl-enters-brave-new-era-20230801\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SASL enters brave new era\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The significance of making South African Sign Language (SASL) the 12th official language lies in a few exceptional milestones.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/sasl-enters-brave-new-era-20230801\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"BloemNews Express\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bloemnuus\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-08-02T02:04:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1b4914eb427f403e94cd497d5f529174.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"BloemNews Express\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"BloemNews Express\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/bloemnewsexpress\\\/sasl-enters-brave-new-era-20230801\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/bloemnewsexpress\\\/sasl-enters-brave-new-era-20230801\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"BloemNews Express\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/bloemnewsexpress\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/80d72f2891bdddfdd35ed12cd10a5925\"},\"headline\":\"SASL enters brave new era\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-08-02T02:04:41+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/bloemnewsexpress\\\/sasl-enters-brave-new-era-20230801\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":505,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/bloemnewsexpress\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/bloemnewsexpress\\\/sasl-enters-brave-new-era-20230801\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/bloemnewsexpress\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/1b4914eb427f403e94cd497d5f529174.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/bloemnewsexpress\\\/sasl-enters-brave-new-era-20230801\\\/#respond\"]}],\"copyrightYear\":\"2023\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/bloemnewsexpress\\\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/bloemnewsexpress\\\/sasl-enters-brave-new-era-20230801\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/bloemnewsexpress\\\/sasl-enters-brave-new-era-20230801\\\/\",\"name\":\"SASL enters brave new era | BloemNews Express\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/bloemnewsexpress\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/bloemnewsexpress\\\/sasl-enters-brave-new-era-20230801\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/bloemnewsexpress\\\/sasl-enters-brave-new-era-20230801\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/bloemnewsexpress\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/1b4914eb427f403e94cd497d5f529174.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-08-02T02:04:41+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/bloemnewsexpress\\\/sasl-enters-brave-new-era-20230801\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/bloemnewsexpress\\\/sasl-enters-brave-new-era-20230801\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/bloemnewsexpress\\\/sasl-enters-brave-new-era-20230801\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/bloemnewsexpress\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/1b4914eb427f403e94cd497d5f529174.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/bloemnewsexpress\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/1b4914eb427f403e94cd497d5f529174.jpg\",\"width\":720,\"height\":1080},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/bloemnewsexpress\\\/sasl-enters-brave-new-era-20230801\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/bloemnewsexpress\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/bloemnewsexpress\\\/news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"SASL enters brave new era\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/bloemnewsexpress\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/bloemnewsexpress\\\/\",\"name\":\"BloemNuus\",\"description\":\"To Inform, Engage and Empower Local Communities\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/bloemnewsexpress\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/bloemnewsexpress\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/bloemnewsexpress\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"BloemNuus\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/bloemnewsexpress\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/bloemnewsexpress\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/bloemnewsexpress\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/bloem-nuus-site-icon.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/bloemnewsexpress\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/bloem-nuus-site-icon.png\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"BloemNuus\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/bloemnewsexpress\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/bloemnuus\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/bloemnuus\"],\"description\":\"BloemNews is a prominent newspaper in Bloemfontein, the capital of the Free State province in South Africa. BloemNews serves the local community with coverage of regional news, events, and issues of interest. The newspaper provides updates on a variety of topics, including local politics, business, sports, and social matters, with a focus on the city and surrounding areas. Its publication is a reflection of Bloemfontein\u2019s vibrant community, catering to both English and Afrikaans-speaking readers. It also serves as an important platform for local advertising, businesses, and public announcements. In Bloemfontein, BloemNews is often considered a key source of information.\",\"email\":\"bloemnuus@novusmedia.co.za\",\"telephone\":\"051-4047600\",\"legalName\":\"Novus Media (Pty) Ltd\",\"foundingDate\":\"2025-01-01\",\"vatID\":\"4100318916\",\"taxID\":\"2000\\\/018234\\\/07\",\"numberOfEmployees\":{\"@type\":\"QuantitativeValue\",\"minValue\":\"51\",\"maxValue\":\"200\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/bloemnewsexpress\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/80d72f2891bdddfdd35ed12cd10a5925\",\"name\":\"BloemNews Express\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/5ade73cf778a97097108bf55ea61b2a6037a918e9a09aac485202e6c60819614?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/5ade73cf778a97097108bf55ea61b2a6037a918e9a09aac485202e6c60819614?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/5ade73cf778a97097108bf55ea61b2a6037a918e9a09aac485202e6c60819614?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"BloemNews Express\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/bloemnewsexpress\\\/author\\\/bloemexpress\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"SASL enters brave new era | BloemNews Express","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/sasl-enters-brave-new-era-20230801\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"SASL enters brave new era","og_description":"The significance of making South African Sign Language (SASL) the 12th official language lies in a few exceptional milestones.","og_url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/sasl-enters-brave-new-era-20230801\/","og_site_name":"BloemNews Express","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bloemnuus\/","article_published_time":"2023-08-02T02:04:41+00:00","og_image":[{"width":720,"height":1080,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1b4914eb427f403e94cd497d5f529174.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"BloemNews Express","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"BloemNews Express","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/sasl-enters-brave-new-era-20230801\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/sasl-enters-brave-new-era-20230801\/"},"author":{"name":"BloemNews Express","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/#\/schema\/person\/80d72f2891bdddfdd35ed12cd10a5925"},"headline":"SASL enters brave new era","datePublished":"2023-08-02T02:04:41+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/sasl-enters-brave-new-era-20230801\/"},"wordCount":505,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/sasl-enters-brave-new-era-20230801\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1b4914eb427f403e94cd497d5f529174.jpg","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-ZA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/sasl-enters-brave-new-era-20230801\/#respond"]}],"copyrightYear":"2023","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/#organization"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/sasl-enters-brave-new-era-20230801\/","url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/sasl-enters-brave-new-era-20230801\/","name":"SASL enters brave new era | BloemNews Express","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/sasl-enters-brave-new-era-20230801\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/sasl-enters-brave-new-era-20230801\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1b4914eb427f403e94cd497d5f529174.jpg","datePublished":"2023-08-02T02:04:41+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/sasl-enters-brave-new-era-20230801\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-ZA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/sasl-enters-brave-new-era-20230801\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-ZA","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/sasl-enters-brave-new-era-20230801\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1b4914eb427f403e94cd497d5f529174.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1b4914eb427f403e94cd497d5f529174.jpg","width":720,"height":1080},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/sasl-enters-brave-new-era-20230801\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"SASL enters brave new era"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/#website","url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/","name":"BloemNuus","description":"To Inform, Engage and Empower Local Communities","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-ZA"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/#organization","name":"BloemNuus","url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-ZA","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/bloem-nuus-site-icon.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/bloem-nuus-site-icon.png","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"BloemNuus"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bloemnuus\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/bloemnuus"],"description":"BloemNews is a prominent newspaper in Bloemfontein, the capital of the Free State province in South Africa. BloemNews serves the local community with coverage of regional news, events, and issues of interest. The newspaper provides updates on a variety of topics, including local politics, business, sports, and social matters, with a focus on the city and surrounding areas. Its publication is a reflection of Bloemfontein\u2019s vibrant community, catering to both English and Afrikaans-speaking readers. It also serves as an important platform for local advertising, businesses, and public announcements. In Bloemfontein, BloemNews is often considered a key source of information.","email":"bloemnuus@novusmedia.co.za","telephone":"051-4047600","legalName":"Novus Media (Pty) Ltd","foundingDate":"2025-01-01","vatID":"4100318916","taxID":"2000\/018234\/07","numberOfEmployees":{"@type":"QuantitativeValue","minValue":"51","maxValue":"200"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/#\/schema\/person\/80d72f2891bdddfdd35ed12cd10a5925","name":"BloemNews Express","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-ZA","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ade73cf778a97097108bf55ea61b2a6037a918e9a09aac485202e6c60819614?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ade73cf778a97097108bf55ea61b2a6037a918e9a09aac485202e6c60819614?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ade73cf778a97097108bf55ea61b2a6037a918e9a09aac485202e6c60819614?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"BloemNews Express"},"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/author\/bloemexpress\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1b4914eb427f403e94cd497d5f529174.jpg","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":47031,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/sasl-signs-road-ahead-20230727-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":301059,"position":0},"title":"SASL signs road ahead","author":"BloemNews","date":"27 July 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The mere inclusion of South African Sign Language (SASL) as an official language will not promote inclusivity as such \u2013 rather, it will require hard work.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/83fc23e9a33f46389e9afa3425eea66a.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/83fc23e9a33f46389e9afa3425eea66a.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/83fc23e9a33f46389e9afa3425eea66a.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/83fc23e9a33f46389e9afa3425eea66a.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/83fc23e9a33f46389e9afa3425eea66a.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/83fc23e9a33f46389e9afa3425eea66a.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":47056,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/sasl-signs-road-ahead-20230726-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":301059,"position":1},"title":"SASL signs road ahead","author":"BloemNews","date":"27 July 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The mere inclusion of South African Sign Language (SASL) as an official language will not promote inclusivity as such \u2013 rather, it will require hard work.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/83fc23e9a33f46389e9afa3425eea66a.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/83fc23e9a33f46389e9afa3425eea66a.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/83fc23e9a33f46389e9afa3425eea66a.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/83fc23e9a33f46389e9afa3425eea66a.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/83fc23e9a33f46389e9afa3425eea66a.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/83fc23e9a33f46389e9afa3425eea66a.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":299266,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/signing-draws-the-short-straw-20240806\/","url_meta":{"origin":301059,"position":2},"title":"Signing draws the short straw","author":"BloemNews Express","date":"7 August 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"It has been over a year since Pres. Cyril Ramaphosa signed the amendment bill to include South African Sign Language (SASL) as the country\u2019s official 12th language. And one wonders what has changed since then.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/29f217cc12fe4a9d91be90d7faa3e167.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/29f217cc12fe4a9d91be90d7faa3e167.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/29f217cc12fe4a9d91be90d7faa3e167.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/29f217cc12fe4a9d91be90d7faa3e167.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":302476,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/public-comments-awaitedsign-language-users-be-heard-20220808\/","url_meta":{"origin":301059,"position":3},"title":"Sign language users, be heard","author":"BloemNews Express","date":"22 August 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB) has called on all members of the public to submit their comments on the recently gazetted amendment bill to adopt South African Sign Language (SASL) as an official South African language.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":302755,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/sign-language-poised-to-receive-the-thumbs-up-20220531\/","url_meta":{"origin":301059,"position":4},"title":"Sign language poised to receive the thumbs up","author":"BloemNews Express","date":"1 June 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"South African Sign Language (SASL) is on its way to becoming the country\u2019s 12th official language.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":301433,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/new-status-for-sasl-complex-20230502\/","url_meta":{"origin":301059,"position":5},"title":"New status for SASL complex","author":"BloemNews Express","date":"3 May 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Officialising South African Sign Language (SASL) as the 12th official language will, in principle, have no significant effect on any of the linguistic human rights listed in the Bill of Rights. The reason is because persons with hearing impairment al","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/b3c906ad334644e8b3676428b0107fd2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/b3c906ad334644e8b3676428b0107fd2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/b3c906ad334644e8b3676428b0107fd2.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/b3c906ad334644e8b3676428b0107fd2.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"BloemNews Express","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301059","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/67"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=301059"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301059\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/301060"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=301059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=301059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=301059"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=301059"},{"taxonomy":"publication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/bloemnewsexpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publication?post=301059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}