3.1. Current legislation
The most reputable form of recognition of a language by legislation is recognition of the language as an official language by constitutional law. According to Reagan, by 2010 the countries which recognized sign languages in their constitutions were Austria, the Czech Republic, Ecuador, Finland, Portugal, Slovakia, and New Zealand. In Article 42 of the Constitution of Turkey, languages other than Turkish can be taught at schools (subject to other regulations) as long as they are not taught as the mother tongue:
“(...) No language other than Turkish shall be taught as a mother tongue to Turkish citizens at any institution of education. Foreign languages to be taught in institutions of education and the rules to be followed by schools conducting education in a foreign language shall be determined by law. The provisions of international treaties are reserved”
(Taken from https://global.tbmm.gov.tr/docs/constitution_en.pdf)
Considering that sign language education is crucial in early childhood, Skutnabb-Kangas notes two important international documents about linguistic human rights concerning instruction in native language. The first one is the UN ‘Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities’ (1992, Article 4.3) which was adopted unanimously by UN member states:
“States should take appropriate measures so that, wherever possible, persons belonging to minorities have adequate opportunities to learn their mother tongue or to have instruction in their mother tongue”
The other document is the European Council’s ‘Framework Convention on the Protection of National Minorities’ (1998, Article 10.2). Turkey neither signed nor ratified this convention, Andorra, Monaco, and France likewise.
“In areas inhabited by persons belonging to national minorities traditionally or in substantial numbers, if there is sufficient demand, the parties shall endeavour to ensure, as far as possible and within the framework of their education systems, that persons belonging to those minorities have adequate opportunities for being taught in the minority language or for receiving instruction in this language”.
In 2009, Turkey signed the UN ‘Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities’. The items 3b and 3c of Article 21 do not have the wording ‘mother tongue’, yet demand the following measures:
“(b) Facilitating the learning of sign language and the promotion of the linguistic identity of the deaf community; (c) Ensuring that the education of persons, and in particular children, who are blind, deaf or deafblind, is delivered in the most appropriate languages and modes and means of communication for the individual, and in environments which maximize academic and social development.”
Other than constitutional law and international law, countries can recognize minority languages by other laws. In Turkey, the issues related to human rights during the EU harmonization process, and the pressures from the Deaf community lead to a series of legislations about TİD. The first legislation that has the wording ‘Türk İşaret Dili’ is the Disabilities Act in 2005. This bill recognizes Turkish Sign Language and requires its documentation by the Article 15: “To provide the education and communication of the hearing disabled, Turkish sign language system is created by the directorate of Turkish Language Association.”. In addition, the bill enforces interpretation services, and training of interpreting to be supplied in state institutions in every province. Later regulations came out in the following years (2006, 2011, 2012) related to arrangements about TİD grammar books, interpreter training, and appointment of interpreters.