Sign language translation

New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) is one of New Zealand’s official languages. People in the Deaf community use NZSL to communicate.

For many Deaf people, English is their second language and they are not fluent in it.

When communicating high-stakes information, it’s strongly recommended to provide a sign language translation for both pre-recorded and live videos.

Examples of videos with an NZSL translation

Meeting the Web Accessibility Standard

When a video has a sign language translation, this meets WCAG 2 Success Criterion 1.2.6 Sign Language (Prerecorded) (Level AAA).

While it’s not mandatory to meet Level AAA to meet the NZ Government Web Accessibility Standard, it’s strongly recommended.

How sign language makes a video more accessible

Sign language provides access to video content for Deaf people in their first language, as they may find reading English more difficult.

For advice on NZSL translations for video, contact Deaf Aotearoa.