On the Web Communication Assist Aide based on the Bilingual Sign Language Dictionary

Proceedings of PACLIC 19, the 19th Asia-Pacific Conference on Language, Information and Computation. On the Web Communication Assist Aide based on the Bilingual Sign Language Dictionary Emiko Suzuki The Department of Informatics & Media Studies, The Faculty of Information & Communication, Tsukuba Gakuin University 3-1 Azuma, Tsukuba Ibaraki 3030031, Japan emiko@tsukuba-g.ac.jp Kyoko Kakihana The Department of Informatics & Media Studies, The Faculty of Information & Communication, Tsukuba Gakuin University 3-1 Azuma, Tsukuba Ibaraki 3030031, Japan kakihana@tsukuba-g.ac.jp Abstract We discuss the basic ideas behind a Japanese to American Sign Language Translation System for the Japanese users, which assists Japanese Deaf people to communicate. Our discussion covers two main points. The first describes the necessity of a Sign Language Translation System. Since there is no “universal sign language” or real “international sign language,” if Deaf people should learn at least three languages: they want to talk to people whose mother tongue is different from their owns, the mother sign language, the mother spoken language as an intermediate language, and the sign language in which they want to communicate. The second describes the use of computer, especially WWW which is very popular today. As the use of computers becomes widespread, it is increasingly convenient to study through computer software or Internet facilities. Our translation system provides Deaf people with an easy means of access using their mother-spoken language. It also provides a way for people who are going to learn American sign language to look up new vocabulary. We are further planning to examine how our system could be used to educate and assist Deaf people. 1. Introduction Although monolingual sign language dictionary systems for American, Spanish, Japanese and others have already existed, there is none to translate each sign languages. In this paper we describe a Japanese-to-American sign language translation system. This system contains Japanese indices to American signs. We have made the first trial Japanese-to-American sign language translation system. We plan also to develop this translation system further to facilitate access and language acquisition for sign language learners. Recently some digital sign language dictionaries are available either through Internet or digital devices. Many of those utilize animation to show the sign language despite animation’s reputation for being friendly for beginners but inadequate at showing each sign in detail. In sign languages, it is important to display the face expression and also the specific finger movement. Motion pictures introduce how signs are used in each sign language structure and present clear, explicit directions. So we decided to use human motion pictures instead of animation in order to show each sign in more detail.The maximum length for a regular paper is 12 A4 pages, and that for a short paper is 8 A4 pages, including Acknowledgements and References. 2. American Sign Language(ASL) & Japanese Sign Language(JSL) 2.1.American Sign Language(ASL) American Sign Language (ASL) is a complex visual–spatial language that is used by the Deaf community in the United States and English-speaking parts of Canada [Nakamura (1)]. The number of ASL users is almost …

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