Minister Bindu to Release NISH’s Sign Language Alphabet on September 29

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
Minister for Social Justice and Higher Education Dr R. Bindu will release on Wednesday (September 29) the Malayalam alphabet in sign language developed by the National Institute of Speech and Hearing (NISH) here.

The alphabet, which has been prepared in collaboration with All Kerala Association of the Deaf, will be released at the Institute of Management in Government (IMG) at PMG Junction at 11 am.

NISH Executive Director M, Anjana, NISH’s Centre for Assistive Technology and Innovation Director Dr K.G. Satheesh Kumar; and other staff members from NISH will be present on the occasion.

The Malayalam alphabet, consisting of vowels and consonants is finger spelled in sign language. Its primary phase has been designed exclusively for the deaf schools across Kerala. NISH is also giving importance to the propagation of sign language in the ongoing Deaf Week celebration concluding on September 30.

NISH faculty members Arun Gopal and Sandeep Krishnan, along with sign language experts, led the team for designing the alphabet. Ragi Raveendran, a NISH alumnus of the Early Intervention department, and the members of All Kerala Association for the Deaf also joined the initiative, which aims to improve the Malayalam literacy skills of Deaf children.