Free Online Sign Dictionary - NEEDS YOUR HELP

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s_t_harvey

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Hi,
There is a new online sign language dictionary that is unlike any others on the net at the moment.

This free service is community created - the users of the site upload their own video clips to help compile the dictionary.

This site has come online today and currently has no signs in it... it is waiting for anybody out there with a digital camera to record some clips and upload them.

The address is: Dictionary of Sign

This site has the potential to become the worlds largest collection of sign language, so get filming and help make learning new signs free for everyone!
 
Wonderful

Thank you for posting this url. I am sending it on to many native signers who are from several generations of deaf ASL users. We must do something to protect true ASL before it disappears completely.

Thanks again!
 
Sign Language Dictionary

Thank you. I hope that it works out...

I please encourage everybody who reads this and knows some sign language to add at least one sign, that way it will soon grow.

Because this is a brand new site there are no signs in it currently and I think that is putting people off being the first one. I only know BSL and have added a few signs to start the wheel turning, but it is up to the online sign language communities now to help create this resource.

I will be adding more sign languages to the site once the ones that are there have got off the ground. In the end I hope it will be a comprehensive dictionary and translation tool.
 
Lantana said:
Thank you for posting this url. I am sending it on to many native signers who are from several generations of deaf ASL users. We must do something to protect true ASL before it disappears completely.

Thanks again!
Click to expand...

I assure you it's not going to disappear.
Evolve? yes. Doesn't every language? Doesn't everything change?
Why would you want things to remain as they were 100 years ago?
Why wouldn't you want such a beautiful language evolve?

I'm certain that 50 years ago, there were those that thought TRUE ASL as you put it didn't need anything else. Today, ASL is changing and this is a requirement.
What about internet connection? That sign wasn't needed in 1980. What about cellular phone? That wasn't needed in 1970.
There are so many new things that weren't here years ago that we now have to include.
As changes in fashion, appearance and the world - so too must our languages.
This includes ASL.
 
Hmm, I think if you are familiar with Banjo's new vlog, you will understand more about what I am calling TRUE ASL. Of course we have new words, that is to be expected and Banjo knows how to use them in true ASL.

Example: The word priorities. When I was growing up, that word would have been fingerspelled, but we now have a Sign for it. There are many, many more examples of course, we can bring those up later on. With many of us it is a choice of whether or not we use the "new" Sign or fingerspell.

I do resent the hearies who are trying to cram Signed English down our throats with the result that ASL is now a crazy, mixed up mumbo jumbo.
 
What's going wrong?

Hi Jamielee

There're bound to be a few teething problems with a project like this. Hopefully you can work with me to get it sorted out?

What is the problem? - are you getting an error message? What is happening when you try to upload a video clip?

Thanks

Simon
 
Fixed?

Hi Again,

I think i have fixed this problem, let me know if you have any luck uploading now.

Thanks a lot for your contributions.

Simon
 
Lantana said:
Hmm, I think if you are familiar with Banjo's new vlog, you will understand more about what I am calling TRUE ASL. Of course we have new words, that is to be expected and Banjo knows how to use them in true ASL.

Example: The word priorities. When I was growing up, that word would have been fingerspelled, but we now have a Sign for it. There are many, many more examples of course, we can bring those up later on. With many of us it is a choice of whether or not we use the "new" Sign or fingerspell.

I do resent the hearies who are trying to cram Signed English down our throats with the result that ASL is now a crazy, mixed up mumbo jumbo.
Click to expand...


Lantana,

I'm a very cautious person. In a way, it sounds as if you simply resent hearies from using "your" language.

The biggest problems I have are the "hearies" that aren't patient and think they are accepted by the Deaf community. These are the arrogant ones that give themselves sign names.
On the flip side, there are arrogant Deafies that think hearies, like me, shouldn't learn ASL. They think it's EXCLUSIVE to the deaf community.

MY ASL classes aren't taught by hearies. They're taught by Deafies. Deaf teachers, some from Galludet and some from the Deaf school in Austin, Texas, and some from other places but mostly from either Galludet or Austin.

The main key is COMMUNICATION. If you persist in ignoring this concept, you will persist in failing to effectively communicate.

In school, the kids (at least here) are taught using a combination of ASL and SEE. In order to teach proper grammar, they have to be taught SEE. In their pwn communications and in normal classroom communications we use ASL and sometimes SEE.
It's not uncommon for the "new generation" to use initialized signs, and not really know they're not fully ASL.
Again, this is a sign of evolution.
No more than we like it that in 1960, a woman was a housewife and not considered an asset to the workforce other than her supprt for her husband. Today, she is an asset in what she chooses to contribute and many choose to contribute to corporate America and other things NECESSARY in the advancement of our country.

In summary, we go with the flow and the end result is that we effectively communicate. Even if we don't like the trends, we have a choice to go with the flow or get left behind.
 
eliotj, I don't think Lantana meant that she resents hearing folks using sign language - but it's more like she doesn't like it that hearing people have forced their own version (ex. SEE) on us. Unless I misunderstood her, too.

Simon, what a fantastic idea having a wikipedia-like sign language dictionary. It has merits and incredible potential.

I don't like the amateurish graphics (no offense), though, and something seems a bit messed up with the text overlapping the graphic title and some other text. :)
 
Feedback

Hi Liza,

Thanks for your feedback.

I think the problem with the overlapping text was just while I was doing some work on the site... that should be fixed now? - if not please let me know what browser you are using so that I can figure out the problem - I have tested so far on a PC and Mac using Internet Explorer, Firefox, & Safari internet browsers.

As far as the title graphic is concered I realise it's a bit amateurish... it's really just there at the moment to give the site a name, once I get the actual programing of the site finished I will then polish up the visuals.

If you would like to add some signs to the dictionary please do so - so far nobody has taken the lead, I hope that the new incentive will encourage people now.

Thanks again for your feedback, glad to see people are taking an interest!
 
You may already have checked this, but it might be a resolution problem. I believe the Web Developer plugin for Firefox will let you test the page at several different resolutions.

Edit: I'm using Camino (same as Firefox, as far as this is concerned - it's Gecko-based) and I'm also seeing this problem, even when I resize my browser. I don't know how much leeway you have with the gallery package you're using, but it might work better to use floating divs rather than tables. (Replacing the pixel measures with ems or percents might also help - or maybe you're mixing the two, and that's causing problems?)
 
Sorted?

Thanks Ismi

I have had another look and it turns out it was a problem caused by an edit I made to the code to fix something else.... it was only appearing if you weren't logged in as a user (which is how I missed it before).

I believe I have fixed the problem now - please let me know if you get a chance.

Also I have updated the title graphic, still not a final version but slightly easier on the eye.

Comments/suggestions welcomed.

Simon
 
I appreciate all the hard work and thought you have put into this project. I wouldn't have needed to be paid 50 cents as an incentive, if this is intended as a free resource. But I guess some people might like that.

I have registered, and the instructions seem easy to follow.

I like that this has the capability for multi-languages - I chose bokmål norsk because of where I live. How about putting in other languages and let the world's deafies upload their own for each country? If that's something you want, too?

Also, I see that the norwegian language doesnt cover the dictionary words - they are still english even though I chose norwegian as my default language.

I still see "Uploaded by: xxxxx"
"Word: banana"
"Regional usage: xxxx"
etc etc.

Dictionary Home - signs. English still shows even though I pick norwegian.

No overlaying words now, and I like the title image better. A bit heavy on the shadow and stroke, but leaves an impression ;)

How about putting in optional lists of dictionary words, and just letting people upload sign for each word.. if they can't think of words to provide signs for, and still let people who are sure write in their own words and upload signs?

Heh, I like the sign for London... someone taught me that it used the "L" handshape (american abc) in that circular motion, but you used just the index finger. Gotcha.
 
Thanks again for the feedback.

At the moment the text language side of things I am leaving until I have finished the rest of the site. Using different text languages is a feature I'd like to add in later one.

Yeah, the way I sign London is with just the index finger (it is the same sign as noisy - London=noisy)... maybe in some parts of the UK they do it with the American 'L' hand shape.
 
I added some signs - works well. I apoligize for the quality of mine it they dont show a nice as Simons.
 
Thanks!

Thanks Jamie,

That's great... what a good start... somebody else is also posting signs as I type.

Don't worry about the clarity of the signs... they look good enought to me.... however the system will work in a way that if somebody uploads the same sign then I will delete the one which is least clear, this will mean that the site is always improving.... it also means that if you feel you want to re-do some that you have already done you can do that.

Just a tip, try to film somewhere with natural light as that comes out much better on camera - I know that probably isn't possible as your camera is attached to your computer, but something to think about.

Thanks again! - You're a star!

Take care
 
Great Site!

Hi s_t_harvey,

I just signed and uploaded around 50 signs. It was very fun! Hey, I had an idea on how you could make your dictionary grow even faster. You should let people vote on whether the "also means" words truly mean the same thing as the signed video. If you get a majority on each word after maybe 10 votes, you could automatically create that word in the dictionary with the same video.

This site is a great idea. It's something I had thought of a month or two ago, but I just didn't have the time to build it.

You also might want to think about what it would take to automatically convert all uploaded videos to Flash Video. Flash is universal, so it doesn't matter what codec people used to record their video--it'll be viewable by everyone if it's converted to Flash--just an idea.

Oh, one other idea. Could you make it so that I can delete an entire entry if I created it? That would be helpful if someone messes up and uploads the wrong video or something.

Thanks for building the site!

--Calphool
 
Hi Calphool,

Thanks a lot for uploading those clips! - good work.

The point you made about the codecs is a good one... I have looked into a conversion utility to flash but there is nothing I can find that is web based which can do that at the moment, but it's something I'm going to keep looking into.

I will be implementing a 'delete' button soon, just figuring out a few technicalities with it.

That's an excellent idea about the voting however it would take a lot of time to develop and haven't got the time right now, but I'll keep it in mind for the future.

Thanks again for your contributions.

Simon
 
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