UAE ministry to launch sign language dictionary to help those with hearing impairment

Dubai: The Ministry of Community Development (MoCD) will launch the first Employment Guide for People of Determination on September 23, coinciding with International Day of Sign Languages.

MoCD said the guidebook will “empower deaf people and those with hearing disabilities with employment opportunities and getting access to services they need — smoothly and easily.”

The sign language dictionary is a standardised collection of vocabulary of around 5,000 words used in teaching and inclusion of students with hearing impairment. “(It) is a major reference [point] and at the same time it will raise the level of community culture in sign language. The dictionary will also UAE sign language interpreters,” the MoCD noted.

The dictionary has various sections, including sign language alphabet, numbers, official documents, tourist areas and attractions, ministries, entities and authorities, clothing and decorative tools, traditional food, family, common verbs, adjectives and situations, trends and placements, colours, home and accessories to name a few, the MoCD added.

Nasser Ismail, MoCD assistant undersecretary of Social Welfare, said the guide for the employment of people of determination “was designed in accordance with the ministry’s vision and mission to empower people of determination. The project is a milestone in making the written content accessible to the deaf people.”

Ismail noted there are 2,706 people with hearing disabilities in the UAE (1,616 are males and 1,090 are females). There are 633 people enrolled in the recruitment platform and 153 of them have been employed so far.