Sign Language (SL) in Graphical Form : Methodology, modellisation and representations for gestural communication

Résumé En

This paper presents a French national multidisciplinary Project (LS Script), whose aim is the elaboration of a graphical form for French Sign Language (LSF). It includes the presentation of three of the steps that have been achieved or undertaken up to now:- Assessing the results of a qualitative survey, of practices and expectations of LSF signers relative to a graphical representation of their language (LSF). This investigation allows us to define the functions expected from the projected formalism, so as to determine the type of encoding to be conceived.- Setting up the theoretical and methodological grounds we establish in order to explore the lowest structural level in LSF, so as to determine a viable minimal graphical unit for the formalism to be conceived. This exploration is grounding in Cuxac's hypothesis of a morphemic rather than phonemic organization of this lowest level.- Developing digitized representations of signs, of signing space and of the signer's face to allow the analysis of a video corpus, aid in transcription, encoding of the formalization, writing editors and reading assistance with a signing avatar and the development of educational applications in schooling, in distance communication in LSF and in the Internet use.