If you buy it from The Auslan Shop you can be sure it is Auslan.

Materials claiming to be in Auslan are produced by many different people and are available from different outlets.

Different people have different levels of Auslan fluency and experience - some have native fluency (Auslan acquired before the age of 7) and others, who may for example have learned Auslan as a second language at a later age, have only some fluency. Fluency has an impact on the quality and accuracy of the Auslan produced and this is often reflected in materials that are available on the market.

Fluent Auslan users consider that many Auslan materials available on the market use the language incorrectly. Like all languages Auslan does change over time. If we look at materials produced 20 or so years ago, or featuring older Australians, we can see how their Auslan is different to the Auslan used by young people today. There are also many signs that are mostly used in particular regions of Australia or signs that are only used in certain contexts, e.g. in religious settings. Such language variations happen with all languages.

But there are elements that are important to good Auslan use, just as there are elements that are important to good English use. The availability of materials using a poor standard of Auslan is of concern to Deaf Australia because it means that people who are learning Auslan are often learning it incorrectly or inappropriately.

For this reason Deaf Australia has established the Auslan Endorsement System. This system uses highly fluent and experienced Auslan users to test materials according to a list of established criteria. Materials that do not meet this criteria are not sold by The Auslan Shop.

For information about Deaf Australia's Auslan Endorsement System go to 'Auslan Endorsement System'