| Description |
Sign language (SL) lexicography, as a young field of study within SL linguistics, faces many challenges that have already been answered for the audio-oral language material. In this talk, we present an online sign and spoken language dictionary, Dictio (www.dictio.info), developed at Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic, that aims to contribute to the solution of some of these challenges. Dictio was created as an aid for students with special needs, but since then, it has broadened and transformed into a useful tool for both linguists and the general public. The platform currently accommodates nine languages, most of which are signed, and about 160.000 entries. The interface is accessible either as mono- or bilingual dictionary. The SL entries are searchable either by a translation into one of the spoken languages or the phonological parameters of the signs, such as handshape, place of articulation or movement. A SL entry is structured as follows: the headword of each sign contains a front and profile videoviews, a SignWriting notation, its grammatical and/or style variants, its social and regional distribution, the definition (in the given SL), examples of use (e.g., in short sentences), and finally translations to several spoken or sign languages. New entries of all the languages, but mainly Czech SL, are constantly being added via different grants and projects, so the dictionary mirrors the contemporary state of the languages and functions as a dynamic representation of today´s language use. Furthermore, Dictio serves as a helpful tool for linguists by providing them with SL material, as well as a platform for implementing various novel lexicographic methods, such as distinguishing variants from synonyms based on their phonological proximity. Finally, it serves the general public, the teachers, and the students of sign languages as a simple learning tool or a study material.
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