The National Assembly of Parliament has approved the amendment of Section 6 of the Constitution to include South African Sign Language (SASL) as an official language to promote the rights of persons who are deaf and hard of hearing.

The adoption of this constitutional amendment on May 2 will bring to 12 the number of official languages in South Africa, once the President signs the Bill into law, Parliament said in a statement this week.

"Primarily, the amendment seeks to advance the cultural acceptance of SASL, the deaf culture; ensure the realisation of the rights of persons who are deaf and hard of hearing to equal protection and benefit of the law and human dignity; and promote inclusive and substantive equality and prevent or eliminate unfair discrimination on the ground of disability, as guaranteed by Section 9 of the Constitution."

The amendment was adopted without opposition in the National Assembly.

The Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development on the Constitution Eighteenth Amendment Bill received 58 written submissions from individuals and organisations as public comment. The majority of the submissions were in support of the Bill.

"The committee noted the opposing views expressed by a few commentators but submits that the recognition of SASL as a twelfth official language is an important step towards the realisation of the rights of persons who are deaf and hard of hearing.

"Further, the Committee acknowledged that SASL is not a universal language, as different countries have their own sign language and regions have dialects, but submits that, in South Africa, it is in the promotion and development of SASL that the various dialects are also recognised," the house said.

Meanwhile, adoption of the Bill could impact the scope and purpose of the reference to sign language in such legislation.

"Relevant departments administering those and related legislation should take note of this constitutional amendment recognising SASL as an official language and consider whether the adoption of the Bill may require consequential amendment to associated legislation for purposes of clarifying the status of SASL as expressed in the Constitution," Parliament noted.

Additionally, Section 6.2 of the Constitution states that: "Recognising the historically diminished use and status of the indigenous languages of our people, the State must take practical and positive measures to elevate the status and advance the use of these [official] languages."

Meanwhile, Parliament added that a Bill that amends the Constitution may not include provisions other than constitutional amendments and matters connected with the amendments.

The committee noted that the use of SASL is mentioned in legislation such as the Use of Official Languages Act, the South African Schools Act and the Pan South African Language Board Act.