https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3548-0043
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ABSTRACT
Picturebooks are powerful educational tools, both for their content and their contributions to the literacy development of children. In New Zealand bilingual picturebooks featuring Te Reo Māori and New Zealand English have increased in number since the 1980s when Te Reo Māori gained official status and revitalisation efforts burgeoned. More recently, New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) has been recognised as the preferred language of the deaf community and given legal official status. Sign languages around the world have been increasingly utilised in bilingual literacy education for deaf children. Public interest in sign language has also been stimulated by the increased presence of NZSL in the New Zealand linguistic landscape. As a result, a number of multilingual children’s books have been produced which include the use of NZSL in static or dynamic (multimodal) formats. In this article, we analyse two types of multilingual/multimodal picturebooks. Our analysis examines author/creator motivations in relation to the changing status of Te Reo Māori and NZSL alongside a critical analysis of how these three languages are presented within the picturebooks. Findings suggest the potential for these books to support engagement with literacy for children who are first language users of NZSL and to promote NZSLawareness among New Zealand children generally.
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank the participants who shared their experiences so generously. Permission to reproduce figures from each of the books was kindly given by the respective book creators.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 The two Deaf Education Centres in New Zealand were merged in 2020, re-named Ko Taku Reo, Deaf Education New Zealand.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Nicola Daly
Nicola Daly is a sociolinguist and Associate Professor in the Division of Education at the University of Waikato, New Zealand where she teaches children's literature. Her research focus is multilingual picture books and she was a Fulbright New Zealand Scholar in 2019/2020.
Rachel McKee
Rachel McKee is an Associate Professor in the School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies at Victoria University of Wellington. Rachel has established academic programmes for sign language interpreters, Deaf NZSL teachers, and adult learners of NZSL. Research publications have addressed description and history of New Zealand Sign Language, sociolinguistic variation, analysis of interpreted discourse, sign language policy and planning.