Rosie Solouota with her parents, Taini Sr Solouota and Kupa Solouota. Rosie became deaf as a baby after contracting measles. Photo / Supplied
Rosie Solouota with her parents, Taini Sr Solouota and Kupa Solouota. Rosie became deaf as a baby after contracting measles. Photo / Supplied
Rosie Solouota suffered complete hearing loss as a baby after contracting measles.
She had no access to formal language until she was nine, when a teacher introduced her to NZ Sign Language (NZSL).
Today, Rosie is a NZSL tutor and advocate for the deaf community.
Her three hearing children all speak Niuean, te reo Māori, English and NZSL.
“Your daughter is deaf. She’s become deaf because of the measles.”
They were the words that changed everything for Rosie Solouota’s parents - Kupa and Taini Sr Solouota.
Their baby daughter Rosie had contracted measles and been hospitalised in Wellington.
Measles can sometimes cause hearing loss in babies due to the increased risk of ear infections that can damage the middle ear structures. Measles can also result in swelling of the brain in babies, damaging the auditory nerve or brain areas responsible for hearing.
Solouota’s parents, from Niue, had no knowledge of sign language and took baby Rosie home and improvised what they called “home signs” - hand gestures and signals they used to communicate with their toddler.
A young Rosie Solouota at the deaf unit at Rangikura School in Porirua, Wellington. Photo / Supplied
When Rosie was old enough, they put her in a mainstream kindergarten and then primary school with her siblings, in Porirua.
Rosie’s three brothers invented unique signs for her too.
“They all have their own signs and different ways of communicating, so it was a real mixture,” Rosie told the Herald through an interpreter.
“Home signs ... pointing around and using body language and gestures with my three brothers, so we could understand each other.”
As luck would have it, the local primary school - Rangikura School - opened a deaf unit. And when Rosie was 8 or 9 years old, a new teacher started who introduced her to NZ Sign Language - Rosie’s first formal language.
Rosie Solouota at Rangikura School in Porirua. Photo / Supplied
Even now, Rosie remembers the wonder of that time. “Wow. It had such an amazing impact on me - to have access to the language of deaf people.
“[The teacher] was very expressive with me and I was able to understand her,” she told the Herald through an interpreter.
“Sign language was developed by deaf people and it’s the language of deaf people. I struggled ... and then I was able to access this normal language for me.”
Rosie Solouota (far right) with her brothers (top) Soul, (left) Jonathan and baby Clayton Solouota. Photo / Supplied
Today, Solouota is a single mum to three hearing children aged 4, 6 and 7, all of whom speak NZSL.
“It’s their first language - New Zealand Sign Language - because that’s my language and I’m their mum.
It’s their first language - New Zealand Sign Language - because that’s my language and I’m their mum
“When they were babies, I signed with them. And as they’ve grown ... they were already starting to pick it up at six months old.
“Now, as they’re getting older, they know how to sign, they know how to use body language and facial expressions as part of NZ Sign Language from me, their mum.”
Now in her mid-30s, Solouta works as a NZSL tutor and advocate for the deaf community. This week is NZ Sign Language Week and she is this year’s sign language hero.
Almost 25,000 people in New Zealand use the language, one of New Zealand’s official languages, and this year’s theme is: An Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere.
Rosie Solouota pictured with her brothers (L-R): Clayton, Soul and Jonathan Solouota. Photo / Supplied
Loss of mother tongue
Solouota feels a sense of loss that she couldn’t learn Niuean growing up, given there were no Niuean sign interpreters.
“I’m a deaf person, so I can’t access spoken language,” she said
Her children, who are all hearing, all speak Niuean and te reo Māori, as well as English, in addition to their first language NZSL.
She said NZSL had changed her life’s trajectory and hoped more Kiwis will learn it.
“NZ Sign Language is essential for me. I use it every day in my life. It’s part of who I am - it’s how I access life and a part of who I am as a person.”
