Why September 23 is Celebrated as International Sign Language Day: History, Significance, and Facts

The International Day of Sign Languages is celebrated annually on September 23 to raise awareness about the importance of sign language and promote linguistic diversity and cultural identity for the deaf community. This special day was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2018 to support and protect the rights of people with hearing impairments.

The theme for this year’s International Day of Sign Languages is “Sign up for Sign Language Rights,” emphasising the need for country leaders to recognise and promote sign language rights in their respective nations. In fact, the World Federation of the Deaf is encouraging government officials to sign this year’s theme in their national sign language to show their support.

International Day of Sign Languages 2024: History

The proposal to commemorate the International Day of Sign Languages came from the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD). The WFD of 135 national associations of deaf people represents roughly 70 million deaf people around the world.

In 2018, the first International Day of Sign Languages was celebrated as part of the broader International Week of the Deaf, which has grown into a global movement since its inception in September 1958.

It is celebrated from September 24-September 30. Since then, the day is marked on September 23 every year.

International Day of Sign Languages 2024: Significance

Sign languages are fully fledged visual languages, structurally distinct from the spoken languages that pass your message through the use of gestures or symbols. Sign language is not universal; instead, each country has developed its own unique sign language system.

For instance, in the UK it is British sign language, whereas in the US it is American sign language. The International Day of Sign Language throws light on the need to preserve this medium of communication for people with hearing impairments.

The day also underscores the equal status of sign languages with spoken languages and calls for states to facilitate sign language learning for the growth and development of deaf individuals.

Moreover, it gives a stage for the development of sign language, the internationally agreed development goals, and the achievements associated with them.

International Day of Sign Languages 2024: Quotes

• “I come from a place where you don’t need to talk all the time. There are sign languages you learn.” – Warwick Thornton.
• “Sign language is the equal of speech, lending itself equally to the rigorous and the poetic, to philosophical analysis or to making love.” – Oliver Sacks.
• “Sign language is the noblest gift God has given to deaf people.” – George Veditz
• “If you are to reach masses of people in this world, you must do it by sign language. Whether your vehicle is commerce, literature, or politics, you can do nothing but raise signals, and make motions to the people.” – John Jay Chapman.
• “Human eyes are the sign language of the brain. If you watch them carefully, you can see the truth played out, raw and unguarded.” – Tarryn Fisher
• “The symbolic view of things is a consequence of long absorption in images. Is sign language the real language of Paradise?” – Hugo Ball
• “You can never comprehend sign language until you understand the reason behind it.” – Unknown
• “Systems of morals are only a sign language of the emotions.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

International Day of Sign Languages 2024: Interesting Facts

More than 70 million people are deaf worldwide, as per the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD).

This huge population uses more than 300 different sign languages to communicate.

Sign language, also known as a visual mode of communication, has its own form of grammar.

Every country has their own version of sign language.

Many people have ‘name signs’, to be better understood as nicknames.

Indian Sign Language is still not recognised as an official language in the country.