British Sign Language

The development of a considerable body of literature on British
Sign Language (BSL) now permits analyzing and describing the so-
ciolinguistic history of the language. An impressive amount of so-
ciolinguistic information on BSL pertaining to the United Kingdom
(UK) provides rich material for such analysis, but, until now, very
little BSL research has focused on Northern Ireland. BSL is the first
and preferred language of the deaf community in Northern Ireland,
and has held that position since the nineteenth century. Despite this,
almost no attention has been given to the sociolinguistic history of
BSL in the region. The aim in this article is to fill the gap in knowl-
edge by detailing, as far as possible, the sociolinguistic history of BSL
in Northern Ireland rooted in British colonialism. The study shows
how Protestant schools played an important role in the transmission
of BSL across the island of Ireland. This research is, therefore, an
attempt to place the study of BSL in Northern Ireland within the
canon of literature on sign language.

There is a dearth of qualitative research concerning deaf people’s
experiences of participating in the Irish Sign Language (ISL) recog-
nition movement, and this limits our ability to understand the op-
portunities and constraints they encountered as they negotiated their
way toward the passing of the ISL Act 2017. While ISL is unique to
Ireland, it is also of crucial importance to deaf people’s identity and
the quality of their social and educational life. The aim of this quali-
tative study is to reveal the primary findings derived from interviews
with nine deaf activists who participated in this study. Framed within
the social movement theory and the Freirean concept of critical
consciousness, the study illuminates the background on how and
why deaf activists managed to overcome some significant challenges
during the ISL movement. The findings show that deaf activists suc-
cessfully negotiated their way through the political and legal system
to achieve their goal. Discussions and conclusions drawn from the
findings suggest that deaf people have the potential to be both agents
of social change and effective social movement activists. Finally, the
article seeks to be added to the canon of literature on sign language
studies and the emerging research on sign language recognition.

This article explores the convergences and divergences between translation and interpretation as two central practices of linguistic mediation. While both disciplines share the common purpose of transferring meaning across languages and cultures, they differ significantly in their modalities, constraints, and professional demands. Drawing on theories from translation studies (Nida's dynamic equivalence, Venuti's domestication and foreignization, Vermeer's Skopos theory, Toury's descriptive translation studies) and interpreting studies (Gile's Effort Model, Pöchhacker's disciplinary autonomy, Rozan's note-taking techniques), the study conducts a comparative analysis of practical cases in diplomatic, legal, and commercial contexts. Findings reveal that translation privileges precision, documentary support, and deferred revision, whereas interpretation requires immediacy, memory, stress management, and oral adaptability. The article argues that conflating these practices risks undervaluing specialized skills and producing inadequate training frameworks. It recommends clearer academic curricula, differentiated professional recognition, and integrated language policies to strengthen both disciplines as complementary tools of intercultural communication.

This article examines Deaf survivors’ access to domestic abuse protection in England through a socio-legal analysis combining doctrinal frameworks (European Convention on Human Rights, Equality  Act  2010,  the  Public  Sector  Equality  Duty,  and  the  Domestic Abuse Act 2021) with a national mapping of provision. It  demonstrates  how  hearing-normative  system  design,  interpreter-dependent  access,  and  fragmented  commissioning  produce  patterned  and  foreseeable  exclusion,  constituting  institutional legal harm. By contrasting these systemic failures with  Deaf-led,  BSL-first  services,  the  article  shows  that rights  become  exercisable  when  accessibility  is  embedded  by  design  rather  than  delivered  through  reactive  adjustment.  It  conceptualises  this  recognition–realisation  gap  as  the  Deaf  Legal Illusion: formal recognition without reliable, substantive access in practice. The article concludes by identifying system-level  reforms  necessary  to  make  equality  exercisable  and  accountability enforceable.

Hoffem ddiolch i Lywodraeth Cymru am gomisiynu'r gwaith hwn, ac am gefnogaeth ein cydweithwyr yno, yn enwedig Ruth Bacigalupo. Rydym hefyd am ddiolch i'r tîm o bedwar myfyriwr ar leoliad sy'n gweithio gyda thîm DSMI fel rhan o'u modiwl COMM335, a helpodd i ddiweddaru'r adolygiad llenyddiaeth academaidd a ddefnyddiwyd yn yr adroddiad hwn (Anna Beloshitskaia, Yi-Wen Chen, Yunshu Li, a Zhewei Liu). Hefyd, diolch i'r holl sefydliadau yr ydym wedi gweithio gyda nhw, ac sy'n parhau i weithio gyda ni, ar faterion cynhwysiant digidol. Am eu cefnogaeth, yr amser a dreuliwyd i fod yn rhan o gyfweliadau ymchwil, a'r adborth arbenigol y mae'r adroddiad hwn hefyd yn dibynnu arno. Comisiynwyd yr adolygiad hwn gan Lywodraeth Cymru i archwilio'r maes cynhwysiant digidol yn y DU. Y nod oedd mapio tirwedd cynhwysiant digidol y DU wrth nodi mesuriadau effeithiol a chanlyniadau ymyriadau a'u heffeithiau. Trwy ymchwilio i heriau allweddol yn y ddarpariaeth, roedd modd nodi'r bylchau mewn darpariaeth, polisi a strategaethau. Mae'r safbwyntiau a fynegir yn yr adroddiad hwn yn perthyn i'r Awduron ac nid o reidrwydd i Lywodraeth Cymru.

People who work in social justice professions typically work with those who do not have a voice in the public square. Historically, these groups have been children, the aged, those poor and/or homeless, and the disabled, among others. This paper shows that those who interpret for deaf people should be classified as working in a social justice profession because its definition pertains to what sign language interpreters do. Social justice professions strive to give everyone a fair and equal opportunity in life, just as other groups enjoy.

In this article, we share our experiences conducting disability-inclusive, education-focused qualitative research in international development. We apply critical disability studies and community-based participatory methods to center disabled communities, emphasizing ethical, community-driven practices, such as reciprocity, reflexivity, and inclusive data collection, to promote equity and meaningful participation in global development and education research. In this practice-oriented article, we discuss our respective experiences engaging in disability-inclusive education-focused qualitative research within the field of international development. 1 We acknowledge the colonial connotations inherent in the term "development" (Grech 2021). We use this term, as that is commonly used in the field, but push back on colonial implications of development through our critical disability studies (CDS)-and communitybased participatory research (CBPR)-informed approaches to disability-inclusive education-focused qualitative research. We draw on our international experiences as disability studies-informed education and legal scholars, respectively, and highlight how we attempt to center the needs and perspectives of disabled people and their families in education-focused qualitative research. To do so, we situate our qualitative research experiences within the field of disabilityinclusive development, where a "big data" quantitative research approach is common between large donor organizations and implementing partners (Glenna et al. 2019).

This study examined the ability of young children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) to detect affective correspondences between facial and vocal expressions of emotion using an intermodal matching paradigm. Four-year-old children with ASD (n = 18) and their age-matched normally developing peers (n = 18) were presented pairs of videotaped facial expressions accompanied by a single soundtrack matching the affect of one of the two facial expressions. In one block of trials, the emotions were portrayed by their mothers; in another block of trials, the same emotion pairs were portrayed by an unfamiliar woman. Findings showed that ASD children were able to detect the affective correspondence between facial and vocal expressions of emotion portrayed by their mothers, but not a stranger. Furthermore, in a control condition using inanimate objects and their sounds, ASD children also showed a preference for sound-matched displays. These results suggest that children with ASD do not have a general inability to detect intermodal correspondences between visual and vocal events, however, their ability to detect affective correspondences between facial and vocal expressions of emotions may be limited to familiar displays.

This paper reflects on an Immersion Project designed to explore the cultural richness and resilience of the Deaf community through two complementary activities: observation at a Deaf community social event and a one-on-one dialogue with a Deaf American Sign Language (ASL) user. The project's findings reveal that Deafness is experienced and embraced as a linguistic and cultural identity, fundamentally challenging the mainstream narrative of it as a disability or impairment. Observation of the social event highlighted the centrality of visual communication, spatial awareness, and collective participation, affirming ASL as a cultural anchor. The subsequent dialogue deepened this understanding, emphasizing Deaf pride, the complexities of navigating a hearing society, and the community's strong values of mutual respect and collective welfare. Critically analyzing these experiences, the paper explores key cultural dimensions, including social interactions, linguistic identity, and ethical allyship. The project ultimately resulted in a profound shift in the author's perception, moving from a deficit-based view of Deafness to an appreciation of its cultural empowerment, leading to a personal commitment to cultural humility and active advocacy for accessibility and ASL literacy.

Gaze following entails an observer looking where another person is looking. It is a crucial component of nonverbal communication and social cognition. Little is known about gaze following in Deaf infants, but this topic presents an important test for theories of developmental science and has societal implications. Here, we report the first experimental study of gaze following in Deaf infants of Deaf parents (DoD) who had native exposure to American Sign Language (ASL). 1 Work with hearing infants shows that gaze following is an important aspect of infant social-cognitive development (e.g. Baldwin

Despite the fact that communication is a basic human right, millions of people throughout the world struggle because of speech and hearing problems. The World Health Organization estimates that 700 million individuals will have substantial hearing loss by 2050, up from the present level of about 430 million. In order to reduce communication barriers between the hearing and the Deaf communities, American Sign Language (ASL) is essential. However, the absence of qualified teachers and standardized resources makes traditional American Sign Language (ASL) learning approaches costly, inaccessible, and constrained. While some answers are offered by current mobile applications, they sometimes lack interactive elements, customization options, and real-time feedback-all of which are critical for successful and interesting language learning. This aimed to design and developed a mobile-based American Sign Language Learning Application integrated with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and interactive features to provide a flexible, self-paced, and engaging learning experience. The Application incorporates video tutorials, gamification elements such as quizzes and progress tracker, and a real-time hand gesture recognition system for finger spelling practice. Evaluation results demonstrated that the application significantly improved user engagement, accessibility, and motivation among the target community. Both hearing-impaired, speech-impaired and hearing community users reported high satisfaction with its user-friendly interface, interactive features, and comprehensive lessons. This research highlights the potential of AI-driven mobile technology to bridge communication gaps, promote inclusivity, and support equal opportunities for education and social participation. Future work includes expanding the app to support other sign languages, incorporating offline features for low-connectivity areas, and exploring augmented reality (AR) for immersive learning experiences.

Although the sign languages in use today are full human languages, certain of the features they share with gestures have been suggested to provide information about possible origins of human language. These features include sharing common articulators with gestures, and exhibiting substantial iconicity in comparison to spoken languages. If human protolanguage was gestural, the question remains of how a highly iconic manual communication system might have led to the creation of a vocal communication system in which the links between symbol and referent are for the most part arbitrary. Posing the question in this way, and regarding sign languages as 'manual' ignores the rich and complex role played by other articulators: body, face, and, in particular, the mouth. As well as manual actions, sign languages include several types of mouth actions. The research reported here focuses on one subgroup: 'echo phonology', a repertoire of mouth actions which are characterised by 'echoing' on the mouth certain of the articulatory actions of the hands. Three different types of data (narratives in 3 European sign languages, code mixing in hearing British Sign Language/English bilinguals, and functional imaging studies) provide examples of a possible mechanism in the evolution of language by which the units of an iconic manual communication system could convert into a largely arbitrary vocal communication system.

Abstract: This paper presents preliminary outcomes of a European Commission funded project which brings together industry, academics and practitioners in an innovative project to create an international forum of learning. SIGNALL II builds on the successes of SIGNALL I (a Leonardo da Vinci project). It is promoted by Interesource Group (Ireland) Limited partnered with the Centre for Deaf Studies,

Critically: • Resolutions: • (1) The Convention, considering the incontestable superiority of articulation over signs in restoring the deaf-mute to society and giving him a fuller knowledge of language, declares that the oral method should be preferred to that of signs in education and the instruction of deaf-mutes. • (2) The Convention, considering that the simultaneous use of articulation and signs has the disadvantage of injuring articulation and lip-reading and the precision of ideas, declares that the pure oral method should be preferred.

• Being able to express oneself, be understood and learn through close social and familiar relationships is positively connected with good mental health (Rodgers and Young, 2012). • Instead, in many of families studies (Gregory et al.), there had been a lack of consistent, elaborated and meaningful communication throughout childhood. • At follow-up, when the children were 18 years old, many parents admitted they still could not communicate fluently with them. • In 17% of cases the young people, now on the verge of adulthood, had little or no language in either spoken or signed language. • Thus, communication in the home is essential. But access to language in the classroom setting is also critical: teachers must be able to fully engage with their students.

This paper presents preliminary outcomes of a European Commission funded project which brings together industry, academics and practitioners in an innovative project to create an international forum of learning. SIGNALL II builds on the successes of SIGNALL I (a Leonardo da Vinci project). It is promoted by Interesource Group (Ireland) Limited partnered with the Centre for Deaf Studies, Trinity College Dublin (Ireland), Irish Deaf Society (Ireland), Finnish Association of the Deaf (Finland), University of Sussex (UK), the Foundation for the Promotion of Entrepreneurship, Lodz, (Poland) and Grant Advisor, Brno (Czech Republic). SIGNALL 2 aims to utilise the experience, results, partnership alliances and the relationships built up with supporters and user groups from SIGNALL I and to develop an accredited digital course on Perspectives on Deafness (POD). Accreditation leads to the transfer of credit points (under the European Credit Transfer System) amongst participating third level educational establishments promoting international mobility in education and the transparency of qualifications. Experiential and evidenced-based material will illustrate experiences of deafness by using digitised case studies and video materials. The course will be offered as a distance-learning programme with fully accessible (signed, subtitled) course content in each partner country on-line. This is essential given that Deaf © Interesource Group (Ireland) Limited & Centre for Deaf Studies Page 2 people are the most under-represented group accessing third level education (e.g. Leeson 2007, Conroy 2006), and is challenging given the linguistic diversity of the European Union. For example, signed languages differ from territory to territory, even where spoken languages are the same (i.e. Britain and Ireland have very different natural signed languages -British Sign Language and Irish Sign Language). The core content for the 'Perspectives on Deafness' course has been created by the Centre for Deaf Studies (CDS) at Trinity College Dublin. CDS has actively engaged in the development of digital learning assets to support traditional delivery of programmes, and are actively engaged in the development of blended learning diplomas and degrees. European perspectives are added, allowing for the exploration of shared -and differing-experiences of Deafhood (Ladd 2003) across Europe as well as notions of d/Deafness as a medical, social, cultural, and historical construct. Human rights perspectives are also explored in this wide reaching course. This paper outlines the background to the development of this course, outlining rationale, content, creation of digital materials, the nature of international involvement and the challenges to creating a repository of digital courseware that will be accessible and relevant to Deaf and hearing students and employers across the European Union, and beyond.

Gwelir cynnydd sylweddol yng nghyfraddau Anhwylder Diffyg Canolbwyntio a Gorfywiogrwydd (ADCG) mewn dosbarthiadau yn ystod y blynyddoedd diwethaf. Mewn llenyddiaeth, cydnabyddir arwyddocâd agweddau athrawon tuag at ADCG wrth iddynt wneud penderfyniadau am atgyfeirio ac ymyrraeth (Anderson et al., 2012) a sut mae eu hagweddau yn effeithio ar ymddygiad a chanlyniadau disgyblion (Rush a Harrison 2008). Mae angen i athrawon ddarparu cefnogaeth i'r plant yma ond yn aml, teimlant yn amwys tuag at ADCG oherwydd diffyg gwybodaeth ddigonol (Alkahtani 2013), gwybodaeth anghyson ynghylch yr anhwylder (Dryer, Kiernan a Tyson 2013), gwahanol ddisgwyliadau diwylliannol (Moon 2012) a systemau addysgol (Timimi a Radcliffe 2005). Mae'r papur hwn yn darparu adolygiad o'r llenyddiaeth ynghylch agweddau athrawon tuag at ADCG, yn archwilio cyfyngiadau yn y llenyddiaeth gyfredol a'r pryderon ynghylch mesur agweddau athrawon tuag at ADCG. Mae'r papur yn gorffen gydag argymhellion ar gyfer y dyfodol.

Gwelir cynnydd sylweddol yng nghyfraddau Anhwylder Diffyg Canolbwyntio a Gorfywiogrwydd (ADCG) mewn dosbarthiadau yn ystod y blynyddoedd diwethaf. Mewn llenyddiaeth, cydnabyddir arwyddocâd agweddau athrawon tuag at ADCG wrth iddynt wneud penderfyniadau am atgyfeirio ac ymyrraeth (Anderson et al., 2012) a sut mae eu hagweddau yn effeithio ar ymddygiad a chanlyniadau disgyblion (Rush a Harrison 2008). Mae angen i athrawon ddarparu cefnogaeth i'r plant yma ond yn aml, teimlant yn amwys tuag at ADCG oherwydd diffyg gwybodaeth ddigonol (Alkahtani 2013), gwybodaeth anghyson ynghylch yr anhwylder (Dryer, Kiernan a Tyson 2013), gwahanol ddisgwyliadau diwylliannol (Moon 2012) a systemau addysgol (Timimi a Radcliffe 2005). Mae'r papur hwn yn darparu adolygiad o'r llenyddiaeth ynghylch agweddau athrawon tuag at ADCG, yn archwilio cyfyngiadau yn y llenyddiaeth gyfredol a'r pryderon ynghylch mesur agweddau athrawon tuag at ADCG. Mae'r papur yn gorffen gydag argymhellion ar gyfer y dyfodol.

G.A.I.A (Gestural and Auditory Intelligent Assistant) is a voice and gesture-based smart desktop assistant
developed using Python. Designed to bridge the gap between humans and computers, it offers a hands-free
experience using natural voice commands and hand gestures. G.A.I.A goes beyond basic automation by
integrating emotional modes like Therapist Mode and interactive modules like Translation, Gesture Control, and
App Management. Unlike mainstream voice assistants, G.A.I.A emphasizes online functionality, personalization,
and human-like responses using text-to-speech, emotion-aware replies, and fun-based interactions. Built with
libraries such as MediaPipe, OpenCV, pyttsx3, and speech_recognition, the assistant is lightweight yet powerful.
It brings together accessibility, usability, and personality offering a modular, intuitive system where users can
manage tasks, control media, and express emotions without relying on cloud APIs. This paper explores the
system's architecture, algorithms, modules, and future potential in human-computer interaction.

Parenting support services and programs develop and strengthen existing parenting skills. However, in the UK and despite the 2010 UK Equality Act’s provisions, these programs are generally not accessible for Deaf parents whose first and/or preferred language is British Sign Language (BSL) because the medium of instruction is typically spoken and written English. This small-scale qualitative interview study gauged North Walian Deaf parents’ needs and preferences for accessing parenting classes. A structured interview assessed a small group of North Walian Deaf parents’ language practices, their perceptions of parenting support and accessibility, and their needs and preferences when it comes to parenting classes. An additional case study of a Deaf parent’s experience of participating in an 11-week-long parenting course with an English-BSL interpreter provides further insight into how such classes can be made accessible to Deaf parents. The main interview findings were that the partici...

In German Switzerland the learning and assessment of Swiss German Sign Language (Deutschschweizerische Gebärdensprache, DSGS) takes place in different contexts, for example, in tertiary education or in continuous education courses. By way of the still ongoing implementation of the Common European Framework of Reference for DSGS, different tests and assessment procedures are currently been developed and their potential are explored to support the learning and assessment of DSGS. Examples of this are two vocabulary size tests. The first is a web-delivered Yes/No Test, the second a Translation Test from written German to DSGS. For both tests, the same set of items was used. The items were sampled from DSGS teaching materials. For the development of the two vocabulary size tests, 20 DSGS adult learners of ages 24 to 55 (M = 39.3) were recruited as test takers. An item analysis of the test results yielded candidates for removal from the item set. Cronbach’s Alpha showed good results f...

Sign languages are well researched autochthonous, bio-culturally diverse, visiospatial languages, both linguistically and neurologically. They confer identity and form new minorities within complex social systems. The continuity of their ethnolinguistic heritages are endangered as replacement levels fall due to the fact that sign languages are not traditionally considered to be mother tongue languages, since most deaf children are born to hearing parents who do not sign, although theoretically they are. A longstanding international discourse since 1880 when sign language was banned in education was due to the supposed effect sign languages have on spoken language acquisition for deaf children. This ethos continues to modern day, with few parents of deaf children being informed about sign language or offered instruction, or it being used as a teaching medium for their child. This signifies the linguistic imperialism that stems from ignorance of modern research, and surdism (in which deaf people are normalised to be as hearing as possible). All the countries which have implemented sign language legislation fall short of revitalisation since there is no promotion to all parents of deaf children. This study demonstrates that the resulting extremely low number of new learners means British Sign Language (BSL) can be categorised as a severely endangered language. This paper applies spoken language planning theory and methodology to British Sign Language, taking into account the discrete political environments in the UK and history of spoken language revival. It is a rationale view of BSL, and other sign languages, as requiring immediate intervention, against the backdrop of English (and spoken language generally) being the language of oppression.

Signlanguage is a gesture language used by dumb and deaf people for conveying the information. This information can be expressed as asequence of gesture patterns to convey messages of daily needs. The main objective of this paper is to design a hand glove which willunderstand the hand movement so as to convert those movements into their corresponding text and audio. This paper consist of an ARMProcessor which has inbuilt analog to digital converters which helps in obtaining the analog values from the contact sensors fitted on theglove. Author's goal here is to recognize a sign language from wearable sensor glove and display it in a suitable text and audio format.This paper addresses the suitability of a low cost glove as a tool for reading the finger movement for translating the sign language in text and audio format so as to lower the barrier and ease the communication with the vocally impaired community.

This paper presents results from a corpus-based study investigating lexical variation in BSL. An earlier study investigating variation in BSL numeral signs found that younger signers were using a decreasing variety of regionally distinct variants, suggesting that levelling may be taking place. Here, we report findings from a larger investigation looking at regional lexical variants for colours, countries, numbers and UK placenames elicited as part of the BSL Corpus Project. Age, school location and language background were significant predictors of lexical variation, with younger signers using a more levelled variety. This change appears to be happening faster in particular sub-groups of the deaf community (e.g., signers from hearing families). Also, we find that for the names of some UK cities, signers from outside the region use a different sign than those who live in the region.

A large portion of the population in India consists of individuals who are deaf and mute. So, the system is working on a glove-based device which will be used for conversion of sign language (ASL) to text. The basic system consists of two parts; sign language recognition and conversion to text. The sign language glove is a basic hand glove equipped with flex sensors, which are used to monitor the bending of the fingers. The term "flex" refers to bending, and these sensors vary their resistance based on the degree of bend. The sensor data is sent to a control unit-an Arduino Uno-where the analog signals are converted into digital form. These digital values are then compared with predefined values to recognize the corresponding sign, which is subsequently displayed as text on a 16x2 LCD screen. Currently we are working on a simple prototype that will convert the basic signs which will be further extended for recognition of words

In a combined corpus-dictionary project, you would need one lexical database that could serve as a shared “backbone” for both corpus annotation and dictionary editing, but it is not that easy to define a database structure that applies satisfactorily to both these purposes. In this paper, we will exemplify the problem and present ideas on how to model structures in a lexical database that facilitate corpus annotation as well as dictionary editing. The paper is a joint work between the DGS Corpus Project and the DTS Dictionary Project. The two projects come from opposite sides of the spectrum (one adjusting a lexical database grown from dictionary making for corpus annotating, one building a lexical database in parallel with corpus annotation and editing a corpus-based dictionary), and we will consider requirements and feasible structures for a database that can serve both corpus and dictionary.

provided comments on earlier drafts or discussed the ideas in this paper with me at length. All pictures are from China Deaf and Blind Association, 1960 and James Myers. This work has benefitted from the observations and constructive criticism of Mike Hammond and Diana Archangeli. Errors are my own. 2Following convention, glosses of ASL signs are written in capital letters. 3Chinese glosses are written in capital letters. English translations are provided in single quotes.

provided comments on earlier drafts or discussed the ideas in this paper with me at length. All pictures are from China Deaf and Blind Association, 1960 and James Myers. This work has benefitted from the observations and constructive criticism of Mike Hammond and Diana Archangeli. Errors are my own. 2Following convention, glosses of ASL signs are written in capital letters. 3Chinese glosses are written in capital letters. English translations are provided in single quotes.

We report findings from a corpus-based investigation of three young children growing up in German-English bilingual environments (M = 3;0, Range = 2;3-3;11). Based on 2,146,179 single words and two-word combinations in naturalistic child speech (CS) and child-directed speech (CDS), we assessed the degree to which the frequency distribution of CDS predicted CS usage over time, and systematically identified CS that was over-or underrepresented in the corpus with respect to matched CDS baselines. Results showed that CDS explained 61% of the variance in CS single-word use and 19.3% of the variance in two-word combinations. Furthermore, the bilingual nature of the over or-underrepresented CS was partially attributable to factors beyond the corpus statistics, namely individual differences between children in their bilingual learning environment. In two out of the three children, overrepresented two-word combinations contained higher levels of syntactic slot redundancy than underrepresented CS. These results are discussed with respect to the role that redundancy plays in producing semiformulaic slot-and-frame patterns in CS.

Although sign language dictionaries of some kind have existed for at least twoto three hundred years, sign language lexicography both as a practical and theoretical discipline is much more recent. A book-length discussion, particularly in a language other than English, is therefore a welcome addition to the select set of writings on the subject. The book is available both in hardback and e-book formats. This review is based on the e-book version; however, aside from the hyperlinked contents and footnotes, no particular e-book features have been implemented. For example, all illustrations are in black and white and accompanying videos are kept separately on the author's own website rather than being integrated in the e-book. This is in some ways a missed opportunity, particularly in light of the author's comments on the advantages of representing sign languages electronically in the absence of a written form. The author is a translator who became interested in the subject after taking sign language classes and noticing that sign language dictionaries were quite different from the dictionaries she used in the course of her work and spoken language study. The author's profession and affiliation explain why the book has been published in the series 'Leipziger Studien zur Angewandten Linguistik und Translatologie', a series devoted to translation studies. While there are only tenuous links to translation, publication in this series makes some sense given the book's intended audience of people interested in linguistics or lexicography but without any prior specialist knowledge of sign languages. The main aim of the book is to provide a comparative study of current dictionaries of German Sign Language (Deutsche Geba¨rdensprache, or DGS). This comparison requires a lengthy introduction to enable nonspecialist readers to understand the issues that impact on sign language lexicography. The larger part of the book (four of the five main chapters) is therefore devoted to providing the necessary background information. Although not explicitly stated, the book's format suggests that this is a reworked postgraduate dissertation, since these first chapters read like a literature review leading up to the original contribution made by the market analysis and comparison of DGS dictionaries. 520

Computer assisted language learning (CALL) is an increasingly common component of L2 learning of sign languages, yet there has been limited research on the outcomes for learners using online sign language resources autonomously. This article describes the principles and design choices that informed the development of Learn NZSL, an innovative e-learning resource for New Zealand Sign Language, and reports on a study that evaluated the user experience and learning outcomes of a small group of autonomous beginner learners with this resource.

Sign language dictionaries have been motivated by dual needs for language documentation and standardized learning resources, and both purposes have contributed to valorizing sign languages over the past 50 years. Concepts and techniques of sign language lexicography have progressed from compilations of captioned illustrations to contemporary multimedia, online dictionaries. This chapter introduces key features of signed lexicon, sketches historical development in sign language dictionaries, summarizes current developments of sign language corpora, and identifies future directions.