Speak with signs: Active learning platform for Greek Sign Language, English Sign Language, and their translation

TL;DR

This paper presents an interactive platform designed to facilitate active learning of Greek and English Sign Languages, incorporating translation, pronunciation, and user engagement tasks for deaf and hard-of-hearing users.

Contribution

It introduces a novel active learning platform that combines sign language translation, pronunciation, and interactive tasks for Greek and English Sign Languages.

Findings

The application enables translation between Greek and English Sign Languages.

It includes pronunciation features for users with partial hearing loss.

Interactive tasks enhance user engagement and learning effectiveness.

Abstract

Sign Language is used to facilitate the communication between Deaf and non-Deaf people. It uses signs-words with basic structural elements such as handshape, parts of face, body or space, and the orientation of the fingers-palm. Sign Languages vary from people to people and from country to country and evolve as spoken languages. In the current study, an application which aims at Greek Sign Language and English Sign Language learning by hard of hearing people and talking people, has been developed. The application includes grouped signs in alphabetical order. The user can find Greek Sign Language signs, English sign language signs and translate from Greek sign language to English sign language. The written word of each sign, and the corresponding meaning are displayed. In addition, the sound is activated in order to enable users with partial hearing loss to hear the pronunciation of each word. The user is also provided with various tasks in order to enable an interaction of the knowledge acquired by the user. This interaction is offered mainly by multiplechoice tasks, incorporating text or video. The current application is not a simple sign language dictionary as it provides the interactive participation of users. It is a platform for Greek and English sign language active learning.