Sign Language Dictionaries Geoffrey Hunt

Why do Deaf people need sign language dictionaries? To learn the meaning of a sign without needing to know a written language – monolingual dictionary To see how a good signer signs To help Deaf people who can only occasionally meet with other Deaf people, e.g. Colombia To keep a record of specialist terminology, e.g. biblical key terms To record different dialects To help Deaf people learn to write words and sentences

Why do hearing people need a sign language dictionary? To help them learn a sign language. To help them appreciate that sign languages are real languages To keep a record of the sign language To investigate how sign languages change

How should dictionaries be shown? Some have use pictures or drawings, e.g. documents from Ad Some have used SignWriting, particularly on the Internet ( Some have used video, often on the Internet, e.g. Danish SL dictionary ( –these are for a single sign languages

What do we really need in a sign language dictionary? Can be used for any sign language in the world Deaf access without needing to use a written language Video is preferable, because it shows all the details There should be –signs, –signed sentences –signed explanations

Oxford English Dictionary

Written dictionaries contain … Word Part of speech Explanation of meaning Different senses Example phrases Different meaning in different countries Derivation Recordings (computerised dictionaries)

SIL’s software for making SL dictionaries I felt that a dictionary that could be used for any sign language was very important. However, we needed some way to represent the components of a sign: –Only SignWriting, but … –But they also provide pictures of handshapes … At present only a beta version, can be used on a computer & supplied by DVD Web version is planned

Now the software … Monolingual, Bilingual, etc. Dialects of sign languages Can produce: –general dictionaries for a sign language –specialist dictionaries, e.g. key biblical terms in a SL Now let’s play!