An interest in language led Hidayat to chance upon linguistics. From the start, he was fascinated by the theory that language influences how people think and experience the world (shout out to Sapir-Whorf). During this period, Hidayat was introduced to languages that was different from what he was used to – sign languages. Using the visual-manual modality for communication, his Deaf lecturer introduced him to the Deaf culture and Singapore Sign Language (SgSL). Years later, Hidayat found himself working with the Deaf community.
Hidayat began with conducting research to support the creation of the Singapore Sign Language Signbank. Now, he continues to provide support for resource building through linguistic research while building on his skills in sign language and speech-to-text interpreting.
In his free time, Hidayat nerds out in the world of fantasy and heroes. Hidayat lives vicariously through characters, widening his perspective to understand people better.
