science

Namibian Sign Language

Namibian Sign Language is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Namibian Sign Language rather than just read about it. In short: Namibian Sign Language (commonly abbreviated as NSL) is a sign language of Namibia and Angola. It is presumed that there are other sign languages in these countries.

Key takeaways

Namibian Sign Language belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Namibian Sign Language to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Namibian Sign Language from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Namibian Sign Language (commonly abbreviated as NSL) is a sign language of Namibia and Angola. It is presumed that there are other sign languages in these countries. The first school for the deaf was at Engela, and was established c. 1970 by the Evangelical Lutheran Church. The first teachers were black Namibians trained in South Africa, and used the Paget Gorman Sign System with Ovambo grammar. Students used the PGSS signs, but developed their own grammar. In 1975 the South African government started a new school for the deaf at Eluwa. All children under 17 attending Engela were moved to Eluwa, and took their language with them. The Namibian exile community in Angola included a number of students from these schools, and in 1982 a school for the deaf was set up for them in Angola, where they taught NSL to new students. Namibian Sign has been influenced by both American Sign Language and Swedish Sign Language.

References

Ashipala et al., "The development of a dictionary of Namibian Sign Language", in Erting, 1994, The Deaf Way: Perspectives from the International Conference on Deaf Culture

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Namibian Sign Language

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Namibian Sign Language claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Namibian Sign Language before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Namibian Sign Language ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Namibian Sign Language

In research: Namibian Sign Language appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Namibian Sign Language in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Namibian Sign Language is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Disability in Namibia, English language, Languages of Namibia, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Namibian Sign Language outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Namibian Sign Language in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Namibian Sign Language means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Namibian Sign Language out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Namibian Sign Language in simple terms?

Namibian Sign Language (commonly abbreviated as NSL) is a sign language of Namibia and Angola. It is presumed that there are other sign languages in these countries.

Why does Namibian Sign Language matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Namibian Sign Language?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Namibian Sign Language.