Signs for NETHERLANDS

Meaning: Netherlands (Holland), a country in Europe.

Not to be confused with the ASL sign PRESIDENT -- different handshapes and palm orientation.

Related signs: AMSTERDAM, HOLLAND, DUTCH.

Deaf Culture and tidbits

Deaf Studies: Wall Poems

Wall Poems in the Netherlands
Photo by Deaf Museums Project, FB

Wall Poems (also known as "Muurgedichten" in Dutch) is a project in which more than 110 poems in many different languages were painted on the exterior walls of the buildings in Leiden, The Netherlands.

One of the poems included the poem "Polder" in the Netherlands Sign Language (SLN) by Wim Emmerik (1940-2015), a famous Deaf poet in the Netherlands.

What this stands out is that while all other poems are written on the wall, this poem in sign language is shown on a large monitor behind the glass wall. Ref

The postage stamp of 1931

The Netherlands' postage stamp was issued in 1931 to commomerate the deaf education.

Postage stamp of 1931/
Image source: colnect.com (2022)

However, this image represents oralism - a form of oppression against sign language, during the "Deaf Dark Age" when sign language was forbidden in deaf schools worldwide after the infamous 1880 congress of deaf education.

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