Why You Should Learn Auslan

Picking up a new language is a great way to challenge yourself, meet new people and learn about a culture and experience different to your own. I’ve been learning Auslan (Australian Sign Language) for two years at TAFE, so I was really excited to see that Auslan was added to the national curriculum last year. If you’re thinking about what language you’d like to learn next, here’s why it should be Auslan:

It’s a home-grown, totally unique language

The first thing to know about Auslan is that it isn’t a signed version of English, but its own language, with its own grammar, popular sayings, vocabulary and rules. There are even signs which can’t be translated directly into English.
Auslan was influenced by British and Irish sign language teachers who taught their languages to Deaf students in the late 1800s, but the language is constantly evolving and changing. There are still some similarities with British and Irish sign languages, but Auslan is also influenced by American Sign Language as well.

New signs are being invented all the time to name and describe things like new apps and websites, famous politicians or even politics. The COVID-19 pandemic saw loads of signs make their way into everyday conversation such as the signs for COVID, lockdown and isolation.

It’s not just a language, it’s a culture

As you learn Auslan, you come to learn that using Auslan doesn’t just mean using a different language. The Deaf community has a culture of its own, that has been influenced by how the Deaf community interacts with each other and the country as a whole.

For example, many Deaf people have a ‘sign name’, which is often a sign or combination of signs that says something about that person, or is about their name. This name is given to you by another member of the Deaf community, rather than you coming up with it yourself. If your name is Bella, your sign name might be the sign for ‘bell’, a sign about you being fun, or anything else that helps people remember who you are.

It changes the way you think about the world

As you learn about the experiences of Deaf people, you come to realise how much of the world is built with a default idea of what a person is able to do, sense or experience. There is an idea called the social model of disability, which argues that people are not necessarily disabled by their impairments or differences, but how we have built our world to accommodate or exclude people with these differences.

The more you talk with people who encounter barriers in their everyday lives, the more you start to notice those barriers, as well as other ways that we don’t accommodate all different kinds of people.

It’s a useful skill

This reason is maybe a bit more selfish than the others, but having a way to communicate with people without using sound can be really helpful in certain situations. Just recently I caught a train with my girlfriend, and we were able to have a full conversation despite sitting in the quiet carriage.
It’s also been useful at places like nightclubs, concerts and festivals, where you can talk at a distance without having to yell.

@theauslancompany Learn the Auslan alphabet  #auslan #alphabet #learn #sign #deaf #tiktok #theauslancompany #australia #foryou #fypシ #happy ♬ original sound - The Auslan Company

You can learn about yourself in the process

Learning a language isn’t just about finding another way to communicate, it’s about opening your mind to new experiences, perspectives and cultures. It’s also a different experience than you might be used to if you’ve learned a language before. There is less of an emphasis on things like rules, and grammar, and more of a focus on being able to be understood by your audience.

While it can be challenging at times, learning Auslan has been a really rewarding experience for me, and I encourage anyone who’s interested to give it a try.