AY Honor Auslan (Australian Sign Language)

Auslan (Australian Sign Language)

Skill Level

2

Year

2023

Version

19.11.2024

Approval authority

Australian Union

Overview

Auslan is the native sign language of the deaf in Australia. It includes many established signs to represent a single word, as well as depicting signs to visually demonstrate movement and location. Auslan also heavily relies on facial expression to express emotion and intensity, which can be very exciting for young people to pair with the bigger picture. With a rich history, learning Auslan will open doors for Pathfinders to have direct conversations with a deaf or hard of hearing person in Australia.

NOTE: It is strongly recommended that each club finds a deaf person who can teach this honor, as the native speaker of the language. You can search online for the deaf education organization in your state.

The Challenging Part

The most challenging requirement of this honor is probably this:

3. Hold a conversation entirely in Auslan for two minutes using a mix of established signs and fingerspelling.