Approximately half of our students use Auslan – Australian Sign Language. For some of our students it is their native language. Others have acquired Auslan later and have varying degrees of proficiency in the language.  Some students prefer to communicate in spoken English.  We encourage students to choose their own preference for communication and many choose to use both English and Auslan according to context.

The following information regarding Auslan is from auslan.org.au. Please visit the website for more information.

To learn Auslan, please contact us for details on training providers in Perth.

Auslan is a natural language, not an invented one

Auslan was not invented by any single person, hearing or Deaf. Any language, whether spoken or signed, grows and develops spontaneously in response to the communication needs of its users, particularly when it is used (1) by an entire community, (2) in communication between parents, children and especially when that language is the child’s first, or only, one.

British origins in the 19th century

Auslan has evolved from the sign languages brought to Australia during the nineteenth century from Britain and Ireland. Auslan has been called a dialect of British Sign Language (BSL) and undoubtedly, the two sign languages are very closely related. It is, however, probably more correct to say that modern BSL and modern Auslan have both evolved from forms of BSL used in the early 1800s, particularly those forms of BSL associated with the large residential schools for the Deaf of the time. The first known Deaf person to introduce BSL to Australia was the engraver John Carmichael who moved to Sydney in 1825 from Edinburgh.

Evolution of an Australian dialect

Auslan has developed some distinct characteristics (in particular, some unique signs) since it first began to be used in Australia in the nineteenth century. New signs developed in the Australian Deaf community, particularly in the residential schools for Deaf children because signers may have had little contact with Deaf communities in other parts of the country. Auslan has also had some influence from Irish Sign Language (ISL).

Two major dialects of Auslan

Though there are some minor differences between states, overall there are two main dialects of Auslan that have emerged as a consequence of the establishment of the two major residential schools for the Deaf, one in Sydney (in the north) and one in Melbourne (in the south). The two sign dialects of north and south may reflect the original signing differences between the two Deaf founder-teachers of the Sydney, Melbourne schools, the pattern of expansion and influence that the two schools (and cities) had. State and dialect differences are large enough to clearly mark someone’s state of origin (and/or the school they attended) but are small enough not to seriously interfere with or hamper communication.

In Western Australia, the type of variation found is referred to as the ‘southern dialect’.

Adapted from Johnston, T. (Ed.). (1998). Signs of Australia: A new dictionary of Auslan. North Rocks, NSW: North Rocks Press. (First published as Johnston, T. (1989). Auslan Dictionary: A dictionary of the sign language of the Australian Deaf community. Sydney: Deafness Resources Australia.)