School of Literature, Language and Media

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South African Sign Language

South African Sign Language (SASL) is recognised and used as a first language by a large number of Deaf South Africans. Since 1996, SASL has been officially recognised as the language of learning and teaching for Deaf learners.

Undergraduate study

SASL is offered as part of the general BA programme and can be pursued as a major through to the final year. What makes our courses unique is that we combine practical sign language skills with a strong theoretical foundation, covering areas such as Deaf culture, Deaf education, Deaf identities, sign language linguistics, and sign language literature.

First Year

SASL1000A: Basic SASL IA

This beginner’s course introduces students to basic SASL communication skills using a practical, communicative approach, covering vocabulary, social functions, and core grammar. It also explores Deaf culture, focusing on the Deaf community as a linguistic and cultural minority, different paradigms of Deafness, media representations, and the nature of sign languages.

SASL1001A: Basic SASL 1B: 

This course builds on SASL1000A by strengthening productive and receptive SASL skills, expanding vocabulary and conversational range, and introducing sentence construction and the classifier system. The Deaf Culture component examines education systems for Deaf learners, inclusive education, language and literacy, legislation, and the comparison between oral education and SASL as a medium of instruction.

Second Year

SASL2000A: Intermediate SASL IIA: 

This course advances students’ productive and receptive SASL skills, focusing on vocabulary, social functions, and complex grammatical structures to enable deeper conversations across diverse Deaf language backgrounds. The Deaf culture component examines the impact of South Africa’s education system on Deaf communities, addressing issues such as language policy, Deaf organisations, oralism, apartheid, and segregation in Deaf education.

SASL2001A: Intermediate SASL IIB: 

This course develops SASL skills with a focus on abstract concepts, broader social functions, and critical awareness of language use and grammar. The Deaf Culture component explores Deafhood, global and local Deaf experiences, themes of oppression, and insider perspectives on Deaf identity and representation.

Third Year

SASL3001A: SASL Introductory Linguistics: 

This unit introduces the core areas of sign language such as linguistics, phonology, morphology, and syntax. while highlighting differences between spoken and signed lexicons. It also examines unique features like classifiers, spatial grammar, and non-manual features, using examples from various sign languages supported by visual materials and readings.

SASL3000A: Advanced SASL: 

This unit trains students to engage in extended SASL conversations on diverse topics using advanced linguistic structures like classifiers, role shift, and non-manual features. It also requires interaction with the Deaf community, preparing students to communicate across language backgrounds and gain exposure to interpreting contexts.

SASL3002A: SASL Poetry and Storytelling: 

This unit explores Deaf literature through storytelling and poetry in various sign languages, analysing both themes and linguistic features such as repetition, symmetry, and symbolism. It also examines differences between written and visual literature, with students creating their own SASL poems.

SASL3003A: SASL Sociolinguistics: 

This course examines sociolinguistic aspects of sign languages, including social and register variation, corpus building, and linguistic analysis across multiple levels. 足球竞彩app排名s compare SASL with other signed and spoken languages while expanding their vocabulary and grammar.

Postgraduate Programmes

BA Hons - South African Sign Language
MA South African Sign Language
PhD South African Sign Language
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