Deaf in Singapore

People Name:	Deaf
Country:	Singapore
10/40 Window:	No
Population:	12,000
World Population:	50,265,850
Primary Language:	Singapore Sign Language
Primary Religion:	Buddhism
Christian Adherents:	16.04 %
Evangelicals:	0.00 %
Scripture:	Translation Started
Ministry Resources:	No
Jesus Film:	No
Audio Recordings:	No
People Cluster:	Deaf
Affinity Bloc:	Deaf
Progress Level:

Introduction / History

The Deaf in Singapore are found in every language group. Since Singapore is a first world country the percentage of Deaf is probably comparable to the percentage in Western countries, i.e. 1 to 2 in every 1000 births. There are three major races found in Singapore: the Chinese are often Buddhist, some are Christian, Indian are Hindu with some Christian, and Malay are mostly Muslim. There are four official languages, Mandarin (Chinese), Tamil (Indian), Malay and English. While a hearing person in Singapore is likely to know several languages, the Deaf are at a severe disadvantage to learn to lip-read and speak because of all these languages.

The standard of living is higher than that of any of the nearby nations. Singapore is a fairly flat, small island with a few hills in the centre. It is a crowded city with many well-built roads and high rise apartments, located just across a causeway from the southern tip of Malaysia.

In Singapore, the children are taught Signed Singaporean English which is not the way they sign when among themselves. Research is needed to see if the community would want and would use Holy Scripture if it were translated into their vernacular Singapore Sign Language.