We have been a keen collectors of Historical Australian Sign Language publications for a great many years now and have compiled this summary to the best of our knowledge. It is a timeline of publications, yet also serves to summarise the evolution of both the language and the educational ideals and philosophy, which naturally, has also deeply influenced Auslan. Wherever possible we have added notes about the publication, to help you to also understand the history behind the publication and the language. - Lee Bilby
The first group to bring Sign Language to Australia as a formal educational language were the Catholic Church, which initially was based on Irish (one handed) sign language. A very detailed history of this period is being compiled with the help of Sr Philonena Thomas, who was involved in the Warratah and Castle Hill schools for the deaf in NSW (both established in the early 1900's). Suffice to say that the Catholic Sisters and Brothers were very influential in the education of the deaf and as such the beginnings of a signing deaf community in Australia. They produced a number of books documenting their language, which I have been honored to review with the sisters. It is worth pointing out that the Catholic schools never used Signed English.
There have been many books covering signs used in this evolving language. The earliest we have found is 1943, but then there is a 28 year jump to 1971. If you know of any titles we may have missed, please contact us with as much detail as possible. We have intentionally omitted "Baby Sign" and Makaton products from this list. There is an increasing trend towards using video footage, whether delivered via video cassette, DVD, CD-Rom or website as this is a visual moving language, but the ability to take a book almost anywhere, without bateries, means that printed books remain important.
Please note that all copyright is retained by the rights holders. The material shown here is purely for reference, review and discussion.
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1943 | How to Converse with the Deaf - in Sign Language | Teachers of the Schools at Waratah and Castle Hill, NSW | ||
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![]() 132 pages, ISBN: None
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1971 | Aid to Communication with the Deaf | Victorian School for Deaf Children | ||
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![]() 141 pages, ISBN: 0959883614
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1976 | Let´s Talk With Our Hands | by Garth Smith, Ann Kentwell & Rose Dyson. | ||
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![]() Featured black and white photgraphs. Published by North Rocks Central School for Deaf Children 133pg 20 X 28cm, ISBN 0959665005 (spiral binding) |
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1976 | Word for Word - Sydney | Unknown | ||
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1982 | Dictionary of Australasian Signs: First Edition | Victorian School for Deaf Children | ||
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![]() 270 pages, ISBN: 0959883630
Superceded by:![]() 2nd Edition |
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1983 | Emergency signing dictionary for communicating with the deaf | Northern Territory Department of Education | ||
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![]() 39 pages, ISBN: 0724508333
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1987 | A preliminary signing dictionary of Australian sign language (Auslan) | Trevor Johnston - TAFE National Centre for Research and Development (Australia) | ||
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![]() This book contains the first use of the term "Auslan" we can find, and in it's discussion pages, discusses the development of further work which became "Auslan Dictionary" in 1989 Published: Adelaide: TAFE National Centre for Research and Development, 1987 Notes: Origionally Unbound, the National Library copy has been bound, but hole punch holes are still visible. Companion volume to "A general introduction to Australian Sign Language (AUSLAN) Other title: General introduction to Australian sign language (AUSLAN) (ISBN: 0863971067) Listing from the National Library: Here Superceeded by: ![]() Auslan Dictionary |
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1989 | Signs for Our Time (a dictionary of Religious Signs) | Barry R. and Jan E. Knights | ||
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![]() 192 Pages, ISBN: 073168155X
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1989 | Auslan Dictionary | Trevor Johnston | ||
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![]() 546 pages, ISBN: 0731650174(Hard covers)
0731647483 (paperback)
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1989 | Technical Signs For Mathematics | Pam Spicer and Ian Rodgers | ||
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![]() 93 pages, ISBN: 0730559300
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1990 | Dictionary of Australasian Signs: Second Edition | Victorian School for Deaf Children | ||
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![]() 342 pages, ISBN: 0959883657
Preceeded by:![]() Edition 1 |
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1990 | A Picture Dictionary of Australasian Signs - For Young Children | Education Department of South Australia | ||
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![]() 128 pages, ISBN: 072438166X
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1996 | Technical Signs for Computer Terms | David Parker and Adam Schembri | ||
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![]() Pages: 228, ISBN: 9780949050069
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1998 | The VSDC Dictionary of Auslan (English to Auslan) | Brian Bernal and Lyn Wilson | ||
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![]() 530 pages, ISBN: 0646366432
Superceeded by:![]() Edition 1 |
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1998 | Signs Of Australia | Trevor Johnston | ||
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![]() 603 pages, ISBN: 9780949050090
Preceeded by:![]() Auslan Dictionary |
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2003 | Survival Guide to Auslan - A beginners pocket dictionary of Australian Sign Language | Trevor Johnston and Adam Schembri | ||
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![]() 202 pages, ISBN: 9780949050137
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2004 | Dictionary of Auslan: with Regional Sign Variations | Brian Bernal and Lyn Wilson | ||
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![]() 381 pages, ISBN: 9780646435398
Preceeded by:![]() VSDC Dictionary of Auslan |
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2004 | The Auslan Phrase Book - A Reference to Workplace Auslan Signs | Deaf Children Australia | ||
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![]() 69 pages, ISBN: 0646439235
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2006 | Trainers Auslan Reference | Bilby Publishing | ||
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![]() The dictionary contained almost 1000 signs and the index over 5,000 english words. These sections were updated every six months until the major revision in 2010. For instance the October 2007 edition had 1100+ signs and 5800+ words. 300 pages, ISBN: 9780975779736
Superceeded by:![]() TAR - 2010 |
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2007 | Auslan Children's Picture Dictionary - Volume 1 | Bilby Publishing | ||
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![]() 70 pages, ISBN: 9780975779781
Superceeded by:![]() Second Edition |
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2007 | Auslan Children's Picture Dictionary - Volume 2 | Bilby Publishing | ||
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![]() 70 pages, ISBN: 9780975779798
Superceeded by:![]() Second Edition |
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2009 | The Auslan Dictionary: for Teachers, Parents and Professionals | Chris Bilby | ||
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![]() This dictionary came in 2 editions, one A4 size and a half size "Pocket Edition" 172 pages, ISBN: 9781921391606
Preceeded byPocket Ed. 978-1-921391-61-3 ![]() 2005 Edition |
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2009 | Auslan Children's Picture Dictionary - Volume 1 - Second Edition | Bilby Publishing | ||
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![]() 84 pages, ISBN: 9780975779781
Preceeded by:Preview at Google Books ![]() 1st Edition |
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2009 | Auslan Children's Picture Dictionary - Volume 2 - Second Edition | Bilby Publishing | ||
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![]() 84 pages, ISBN: 9780975779798
Preceeded by:Preview at Google Books ![]() 1st Edition |
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2009 | Auslan Children's Picture Dictionary - Volume 3 | Bilby Publishing | ||
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![]() 96 pages, ISBN: 9781921391538
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2010 | Auslan for Your Workplace | Lee Bilby | ||
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![]() 100 pages, ISBN: 9781921391620
Preview at Google Books |
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2010 | Trainers Auslan Reference | Bilby Publishing | ||
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![]() The dictionary and index sections are identical to "The Auslan Dictionary for Teachers, Parents and Professionals". 300 pages, ISBN: 9780975779736
Preceeded by:![]() TAR - 2005 |
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