Woman adds 230 new words to Turkish Sign Language

KARABÜK

Born to hearing-impaired parents and raised using sign language in Safranbolu, 29-year-old Sibel Kaya, once mistakenly believed to be deaf herself, has transformed communication for Türkiye's hearing-impaired community by adding 230 new words to Turkish Sign Language.

Kaya spent the first nine years of her life with her parents in the northern province of Karabük's Safranbolu district and was thought to be deaf like them, growing up communicating solely through sign language. It wasn’t until she visited her grandmother in the southern province of Adana that the truth about her hearing ability came to light.

“My grandmother noticed I reacted to sounds. After examinations, we realized I could hear,” Kaya shared.

At age 9, she moved in with her grandmother to learn how to speak, achieving fluency by 12. However, an accident at 13 caused her hearing to deteriorate, and she has relied on a hearing aid ever since.

Reflecting on her childhood, Kaya described moments of curiosity. “When I went to the park, I noticed children communicating without their hands. I asked my mother, ‘Are they disabled?’ because, to me, not using your hands seemed unusual,” she explained.

Inspired by her experiences, Kaya launched the “Hadi İşaret” social enterprise project to address the lack of words in Turkish Sign Language.

“There are over 600,000 words in Turkish but only 2,600 in sign language. This creates barriers for deaf individuals in expressing themselves and understanding written texts,” Kaya said.

With support from the Culture and Tourism Ministry and the Family and Social Services Ministry, Hadi İşaret created an art dictionary featuring 230 new signs.

“Thanks to this project, deaf individuals can now talk about art in detail. For example, terms like ‘harmony’ and ‘innovation,’ once explained in multiple signs, are now concise and clear,” Kaya said.

The project involves collaboration with deaf painters, linguists and artists to expand vocabulary in areas such as health, politics and technology.

“The goal is to enrich sign language so that no one is left behind in communication,” she concluded.