South African Sign Language
Gain an advanced understanding of South African Sign Language.
Overview
Our Honours programme is a one-year full-time course that equips students with advanced skills and knowledge in the field of South African Sign Language (SASL) and Deaf Studies. In addition, students undertake a research project on a topic of their choice.
Career Opportunities
The majority of our graduates make meaningful contributions to society by applying the skills and knowledge they have acquired in our department. Major career pathways for SASL students include:
- Teaching at Deaf schools
- Working as sign language interpreters
- Serving as language practitioners in various government sectors
- Conducting research in the fields of SASL and Deaf Studies
In addition to these roles, many professional fields increasingly value individuals who can sign and who understand Deaf culture, particularly since the official recognition of SASL in 2023. Careers related to SASL are also less affected by AI compared to those involving other languages. For this reason, we are confident that a wide range of job opportunities will continue to be available to our graduates as they develop strong signing skills and a deep understanding of the Deaf community.
Curriculum
BA Hons SASL comprises of the following courses:
- SASL4000A: SASL Research Essay (compulsory): The candidate will be required to carry out a research project on an approved topic, written up in the form of a SASL Honours Research Essay and demonstrating the candidate's ability to conduct and complete independent research.
- SASL4001A: SASL Research Methodology (compulsory): This course guides students in identifying, designing, and conducting research projects in SASL, emphasizing research methods, data analysis, and academic writing. It also fosters a collaborative community of researchers for sharing ideas and support.
- SASL4002A: Specialised SASL (compulsory for hearing students): This course develops students’ proficiency in SASL at the discourse level through creative text production and translation between SASL and English, with an emphasis on specialised vocabulary. It covers diverse settings (medical, legal, educational, etc.), formal texts (lectures, presentations), creative texts (poetry, narratives, theatre), and informal texts (conversation).
- SASL4003A: SASL Literature & Folklore (elective): This course provides an in-depth study of SASL and other signed language literature and folklore as key components of Deaf cultural heritage. Building on SASL3002A, it expands beyond poetry to include stories, humour, folklore, and other artistic forms, offering students deeper insight into the creative and cultural dimensions of sign language.
- SASL4004A: Sign Language Acquisition (elective): This course examines key issues in sign language acquisition, focusing on the impact of visual modality and the unique context of deaf children, most of whom are born to hearing families. Topics include theories of language acquisition, stages of L1 development, the roles of iconicity and motor skills, late exposure to sign language, and L2 acquisition by hearing adults.
- SASL4005A: SASL Advanced Linguistics (elective): This course offers an advanced study of sign language linguistics, focusing on how the visual modality shape’s linguistic structure and meaning. Students will engage with theories of sign phonology, lexicon, morphology, and grammar, compare signed and spoken languages, apply frameworks to SASL, and develop skills in transcribing sign language data using ELAN.
- SASL4006A: SASL Advanced Sociolinguistics (elective): This course deepens students’ understanding of sociolinguistic variation and lexicography in SASL, focusing on phonological properties, dialectal varieties, and principles of dictionary organization. It also covers cross-linguistic comparisons, loan signs, terminology development, and the use of technology and ELAN for transcription, while drawing on practices from other sign languages such as ASL, Auslan, BSL, and NGT.
Entry Requirements
A bachelors degree or equivalent with 65% course mark aggregate in third-year SASL courses.
Additional entry requirements may apply.
University Application Process
- Applications are handled centrally by the Student Enrolment Centre (SEnC). Once your application is complete in terms of requested documentation, your application will be referred to the relevant School for assessment. Click here to see an overview of the Wits applications process. Refer to Wits postgraduate online application guide for detailed guidelines.
- Please apply online. Upload your supporting documents at the time of application, or via the Self Service Portal.
- Applicants can monitor the progress of their applications via the Self Service Portal.
- Selections for programmes that have a limited intake but attract a large number of applications may only finalise the application at the end of the application cycle.
Please note that the Entry Requirements are a guide. Meeting these requirements does not guarantee a place. Final selection is made subject to the availability of places, academic results and other entry requirements where applicable.
International students, please check this section.
For more information, contact the Student Call Centre +27 (0)11 717 1888, or log a query at www.wits.ac.za/askwits.
University Fees and Funding
Click here to see the current average tuition fees. The Fees site also provides information about the payment of fees and closing dates for fees payments. Once you have applied you will be able to access the fees estimator on the student self-service portal.
For information about postgraduate funding opportunities, including the postgraduate merit award, click here. The University's Postgraduate Funding portal is a database of scholarships, bursaries and other funding opportunities available to Wits postgraduate students. Please also check your School website for bursary opportunities. NRF bursaries: The National Research Foundation (NRF) offers a wide range of opportunities in terms of bursaries and fellowships to students pursuing postgraduate studies. External bursaries portal: The Bursaries South Africa website provides a comprehensive list of bursaries in South Africa.