Märtha Louise celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Deaf Federation

Princess Märtha Louise.Photo: Håkon Mosvold Larsen / NTB scanpix

The Minister of Knowledge, Oslo’s mayor, and Princess Märtha Louise were among the guests at the 100th anniversary of the Norwegian Deaf Federation in Oslo City Hall on Friday.

 

Deputy Khamshajiny Gunaratnam welcomed and impressed everybody when she made a large amount of her speech in sign language. The princess, who is the patron of the Norwegian Deaf Federation, also used sign language when she was talking to others at the party.

Driver cards for the deaf, subtitling on TV, and free access to professional character language interpreters are some of the organisation’s working achievements since it was founded in 1918.

There are approximately 5,000 deaf people and 16,500 sign language users in Norway, according to figures from the Norwegian Deaf Federation. Norwegian sign language is an independent language with its own grammar, syntax and history.In 2009 it was recognised as a fully-fledged language in Norway.

 

© NTB scanpix / #Norway Today