Trainees

TINAI Asinate

Ms. Tinai Asinate is from Fiji. She joined the APSL program in 2010. She has recently completed two diplomas in the APSL program and is now studying for three more diplomas.

Ms. Asinate Tinai studied at Gospel High School in Fiji for five years from 2006-2010. She is a member of the Fiji Association of the Deaf. She has experience working in the Deaf community, Fiji Women’s Deaf Committee, and Deaf workshops. She is interested in sign language research, especially involving Deaf children, Deaf students in high schools, and also home signs. She has helped Deaf high school students interpret words into signs.

In 2010, she was involved in the Deaf Awareness Week and became interested in sign language and promoting Deaf culture. She noticed that there are many differences among Deaf home signs. She feels it is important to research all the different signs in order to unify Deaf community in Fiji. She is currently working as an assistant in the Fiji Association of the Deaf. She would like to help the Deaf community by continuing to work for the association in the future.

In 2010, she began her study at the Centre for Sign Linguistics and Deaf Studies at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, where she has taken courses on Hong Kong Sign Language, Deaf culture, English, basic computer skills, introduction to sign language research, etc. After her she finishes the programme, she will go back to Fiji and help the Deaf community by working on sign language research and Fiji sign language dictionaries. She will also teach Deaf children using the sign language dictionaries developed through her research. She believes that good education and knowledge in sign language are necessary for Deaf people.