The person signing some major speeches at Mandela’s memorial service in Soweto yesterday was doing what has been described as ‘childish hand gestures’ rather than sign language.
This is certainly one of the more bizarre stories we’ve seen in a while. The person employed to sign the speeches of various dignitaries at Nelson Mandela’s memorial service yesterday apparently had no knowledge of sign language whatsoever.
Standing beside various leaders as they spoke, including Barack Obama, the man was making lots of gestures, but they were completely incomprehensible to deaf viewers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAt-5VuBCGc
Wilma Newhoudt, the first deaf woman to be elected to the South African Parliament tweeted: ‘ANC-linked interpreter on the stage with dep president of ANC is signing rubbish. He cannot sign. Please get him off’.
The World Association of Sign Language Interpreters also said what he was signing was not any known sign language and the Telegraph carries some quotes from David Buxton, the top man of the British Deaf Association, who described the man’s signing as: ‘waving his hands around but there was no meaning’ and ‘childish hand gestures and clapping’.
An investigation has been launched and the South African government are expected to release a statement soon about how this man got access to such a position without the required skills.
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