German Sign Language and
Communication of the Deaf
Photo: UHH/Denstorf
11 May 2022, by Pamela Sundhausen
Photo: IDGS
On 11 May 1987, the "Centre for German Sign Language and Communication of the Deaf" was ceremoniously opened at Rothenbaumchaussee 45 in Hamburg. The foundation stone had already been laid a few years earlier by Prof. Dr. Siegmund Prillwitz, with the founding of the legendary "Research Centre: German Sign Language" at the Germanic Seminar of the University of Hamburg. In 1997, the name was changed to "Institute".
35 years is a long time in view of the rapid technical and social development. When research into DGS was still in its infancy, there was neither the Internet nor digital media. The legal recognition of DGS was still a long way off, DGS poetry slams, Deaf Culture Days, inclusion, bilingual support for Deaf children, nationwide provision of professional interpreters - all these were still unknown concepts. Signs were elaborately drawn by hand to illustrate the first research papers with examples from DGS. In the first DGS courses, instead of digital learning content for downloading, there was a VHS cassette for self-carrying. At that time, if you wanted to work from home, you couldn't just videochat with your colleagues, but had to rely on communication by typing on the TTY or using a fax machine. In the meantime, technical and social developments have opened many doors for further research into DGS. We look back with pride on the origins of DGS research, on the many successful research projects at the IDGS, and are delighted to see the many people who, under our roof at the University of Hamburg, turn to the most beautiful languages every day anew with great fascination and concentrated research interest.
Happy birthday, dear IDGS!