Dictionaries for the hearing impaired
INDIAN SIGN LANGUAGE DICTIONARY & INDIAN TECHNICAL SIGN LANGUAGE DICTIONARY: Copies can be had from The Secretary, Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya, Coimbatore-641020. Rs. 600.
THE DEVELOPMENT of Indian Sign Language (ISL) dictionary (2001) is an earnest effort to endorse the Salamanaca statement of 1994 which indicated that the hearing impaired should have access to the communication they need and that sign language is the right of the hearing impaired.
The dictionary under review brings at one-place varieties of Indian sign languages which are used in various parts of India, by compiling and unifying the facts gathered.
Communication among such people all over India can be made effective through the use of this book. Indeed there is great depth and logic in the presentation, as the signs have been gathered through still photography, video filming, field visits, interviews and collections of drawings from various existing sources.
Well-illustrated
It has 2500 line drawing-illustrations of the various signs with their meanings. The value of the book is enhanced because the work has been endorsed by many associations for the hearing impaired in India.
This dictionary will serve as a resource material and a communication tool for those persons interested in the welfare and empowerment of persons with deafness. This ISL dictionary offers a vocabulary base and could lead to further research in the area.
The Indian Technical Sign Language dictionary provides signs related to job oriented technical vocational courses. It is in conformity with the views of the Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI) to equip the vocational instructors of hearing impaired students, both in integrated and segregated set up, in enhancing their communication skills.
Details of components
The book also discusses the components of Indian sign language — signs, gestures, finger spelling, facial expressions, body language, mime, lip reading — in detail as each of these components play a vital role in ISL.
Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya, Coimbatore and the project team deserve praise for their painstaking efforts in the production of this valuable dictionary. Its use as a manual for instructors could have been emphasised.
These books have been published at a very opportune time when India has moved into the new millennium with its emphasis on the rights of persons with disabilities.
LATHA RAJENDRAN
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