Signed language in Nigeria and some other West African countries has a rich history and continues to evolve. This article explores the history, development, and grammar of Nigerian Sign Language (NSL), focusing on its importance in Deaf education and its cultural significance.
Early History and Influences
The histories of most Deaf Communities in Africa were not recorded prior to the arrival of the colonial masters and the missionaries. There are myths and stories of Deaf people located in different communities that were accepted on varied levels. Some were accepted and incorporated as members of the communities in which they dwelt, and others were just seen as slaves working for royalty and still others were just entertainers.
Prior to the 1950s, there was no government-recognized mode of Deaf education for Deaf people in Ghana and Nigeria. Indigenous African sign languages were hardly recognized and considered as natural languages.
Before the emergence of Old ASL in Nigeria by Andrew Forster, some Nigerian Special Educators, and Social Welfare personnel such as S.A. Dawodu, Allison Izzet, and a few others, had engaged in some organized attempts through the Society for the Care of the Deaf, to teach deaf children using some form of signed language. Before this time, however, we assume that deaf people at different Nigerian communities were using some form of signed languages to communicate with their families and with one another.
One community-based signed language is the Adamorobe Sign Language (AdaSL) which is believed to have been the first recorded gestural communication in Sub-Saharan Africa. This signed language is given a precise date of 1733 as the time it emerged, however, Okyere and Addo did not back their claim with substantial evidence.
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In colonial times, institutions were established to cater for Deaf education but were only accessible to the children of the rich and the powerful which was just a minute representation of Deaf people.
The Role of Andrew Foster
In Africa, the onset of Deaf education is mostly attributed to the missionary work of Rev. Dr. Andrew Foster, a Deaf African American. In the late 1950s, Andrew Foster arrived in Ghana and this caused a change in educating Deaf peoples in many African nations through his efforts in establishing schools for Deaf people across several nations of Africa. Dr. Foster’s missionary drive led him to explore many nations in Africa, teaching Deaf people the message of the gospel.
Beginning in 1957 in Ghana, and its subsequent expansion to other African countries including Nigeria, Foster led the establishment of 31 schools for Deaf people in 13 African countries. He also established schools to teach signed language to the “languageless” Deaf people with whom he came into contact. The goal was to evangelize to Deaf people in a language they understand. However, this goal led him to the establishment of many Deaf schools across Africa.
He introduced the concept of “total communication” in signed language “which embraced both American and indigenous signs”. As the first black graduate of the Gallaudet University, he desired to impact the continent of Africa with the knowledge he had acquired after he found out that Deaf education on the continent was below average. Dr. Foster’s impact on education for Deaf Africans is seen in the legacy he left; 31 schools for Deaf people across Africa.
In 1960, Andrew Forster arrived in Nigeria to teach deaf and hard of hearing children using signed language. Prior to his arrival in Nigeria, Deaf education was starting to gain strength by the efforts of some indigenous special education trained individuals, but the teaching method was oralism, as it was the case earlier in the Americas and Europe.
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Today, over 5 decades, after, the ASL used in America has evolved and developed through conscientious efforts of American Deaf Scholars and Linguists, having little or no intelligibility with the signed language variety used in Nigerian schools for Deaf education, yet, some members of Nigerian Deaf Community (NDC) are comfortable to claim they sign ASL. The linguistic fact remains that ASL does not represent the culture of the Nigerian Deaf; it represents the culture of American Deaf.
Current Status of Deaf Education and Sign Language in Nigeria
Despite the increased number of public and private schools, Deaf education in both countries remain one of the least developed on the African continent with minimal inclusive education for Deaf students at the basic level in Ghana and Nigeria. The emphasis for inclusive education in Ghana begun in 1994 but its implementation is still minimal.
Currently there are about 20 institutions that offer either Deaf only or inclusive education in Ghana. This number is made up of 17 public/private schools for the Deaf and two private inclusive Schools. The language of Deaf education in all the institutions is GSL.
Currently, Ghana does not have a recognized official signed language policy. In June 2006, Ghana passed the Persons with Disability Act, 2006 (Act 715) with the “hope that it will improve the life of persons with disability (PWDs) to enable them be part of mainstream society”, but this has been a mirage as the act failed to account for the recognition of Ghanaian Sign Language as the official language for Deaf persons in Ghana.
Challenges and the Way Forward
The problems facing Deaf education in Africa are varied and include lack of trained teachers/personnel, lack of facilities, abandonment of students by some parents and guardians, and inadequate resources to fund institutions for Deaf people.
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Though, signed languages across Africa have remained the languages of people who are deaf, these languages are hardly recognized in Africa as national languages. Signed languages are however used at some official gatherings as the language for interpreting and for Deaf education. Language policy makers have ignored the need to include signed languages as part of the official languages of many nations of Africa.
From our encounter with Deaf students across Ghana, one thing that stood out was the fact that most Deaf students could not access higher education. This was mainly attributed to the low performance of students and lack of interest in education. Again, access to education and inadequate facilities are some of the factors that have been reported to hinder Deaf education in Ghana.
We argue that creating an enabling environment for Deaf education, introducing national policies and laws that support Deaf education and signed language use will improve the standards for Deaf education in Ghana and Nigeria.
Indigenous Nigerian Sign Language (INSL) and preserve it for posterity. develop our language, nobody will do it for us. Language must portray Nigerian deaf culture (Wilcox & Wilcox, 2002).
As much as we know that there are exceptional parents, who seem not to behave this way, rather involved in advocating for their deaf children, those that do not get involved are much more, and we know that this is neglect, and if possible, abuse of the right to education of deaf children.
Nigerian Signed Languages Vs. American Sign Language (ASL)
American Sign Language (ASL) is the cultural and official language of deaf people in America, it is not a universal language. The history of the introduction of ASL to Nigeria dates back to the 1960s, when Andrew Forster, an African American deaf missionary used Old American Sign Language in teaching deaf children in the then Western Province of Nigeria, leading to the establishment of deaf schools in Lagos and Ibadan.
The signed language used in Nigerian Deaf Schools (NDSs) for Deaf education, no doubt shares certain similar vocabulary, most of which are English words, with ASL, just like ASL shares from English vocabulary, but with a different grammatical structure. Although certain Sign Linguists (foreign) have referred the signed language used in Nigerian Deaf Schools to as Nigerian-ASL, it is our view that such a nomenclature promotes linguistic genocide, and mitigates against the development of the language, since its users think of it as a foreign language.
Before this time, however, we assume that deaf people at different Nigerian communities were using some form of signed languages to communicate with their families and with one another. Until today, deaf children at different communities have continued to develop signs, and use them for interpersonal communications, and some of these signs find their way into the deaf schools, when they get enrolled in schools, where they are either overshadowed by the classroom signs or adopted by the school system.
If there are dialects of Nigerian Sign Language, there is, and should be a standard version, and that standard version is not American Sign Language; that standard or widely acceptable version is not foreign - it is indigenous, it is Nigerian. Even in spoken language, Nigerian English/Nigerian Pidgin is indigenous, it is Nigerian, used by Nigerians to express themselves in ways that foreigners hardly understand.
Hausa Sign Language is a language in its own right with its own lexicon and grammar. It can be analysed linguistically like other spoken and sign languages. The HSL lexicon does, however, include loanwords from spoken Hausa, the surrounding major spoken language.
HSL signs are articulated by the hands. Each sign is composed of a number of components that are called the manual parameters, i.e. handshape, orientation, movement, and location. A sign may be articulated by one hand or both. Body posture and movement as well as facial expressions and other non-manual parameters play a role as well. They may be inherent parts of signs but may also be used to express grammatical features
Here is a summary of key points regarding Deaf education and sign language in Ghana and Nigeria:
| Country | Deaf Education Status | Sign Language Recognition | Key Challenges |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ghana | Underdeveloped, minimal inclusive education | No official policy | Inadequate facilities, lack of trained teachers |
| Nigeria | Underdeveloped, minimal inclusive education | No official policy | Inadequate facilities, influence of ASL |
