A New Era in the Right to Sign Since the 1980s, deaf New Zealanders Although rights and obligations do not flow have assumed a more positive sense of automatically from official recognition, it is ownership of their language and asserted a usual for some specific rights to be assigned Deaf cultural identity. NZSL was accepted to those wishing to use an official language. for use in deaf education from 1993. Other Most often these involve the right to use significant developments since the 1990s an official language in the justice system, in include establishing the NZSL interpreter public administration and in the education training course, documenting NZSL (for sector.11 In the case of a minority language, example through NZSL dictionaries) and declaring that language to be “official” expanding teaching of NZSL. In 2006, implies an expectation on a country to adopt after many years of lobbying by the deaf measures that enable this language to be community, NZSL was made an official used in day-to-day public interactions language of New Zealand with the passing of the NZSL Act. 1.5 Official recognition of a language 1.5.1 Official recognition of sign languages Internationally, a growing number of countries have recognised the rights of sign language users, through a variety of Internationally, there are different legislative and policy measures including approaches to the term “official language” amendments to a country’s constitution. as it applies to spoken languages. The legal These have implemented specific sign framework and consequences of official language provisions or clarified sign language status vary between countries and for users’ rights under anti-discrimination or different languages. Typically, a country’s education laws and policies.12 official languages are also administrative language(s) used in society, schools and Most often, recognition has occurred in government. However, not all official education law and policy. These clarify languages are in such common usage. the linguistic rights of sign language users, Minority languages are often made official setting out how these are to be implemented too, in order to promote a less dominant in the education sector. Recognition, for language and improve equality of outcomes symbolic purposes, has typically followed for that population group. This may involve such education changes.13 For example, promoting the rights of minority groups to Swedish Sign Language was legally speak their language and ensuring they will recognised in 1981 specifically to mandate not be discriminated against for doing so. It the provision of bilingual education for can include protecting the language itself. deaf children. This included provisions for 21