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From:
Valerie Sutton Date: Sat Nov 28, 1998 5:30 pm Subject: Re: Automatic translation | |
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On Fri, 27 Nov 1998, Carlos wrote: >Hi to every body in this list (I'm new at it). > >My name is Carlos and I'm working in a R&D group in Colombia, where we >are planing to make an automatic machine (computer) translator from >Spoken Spanish into Colombian Sign Language (LSC for short). At this >momoent we are award of the lots of difficulties this project has to >pass throw and one of those is the final representation of the LSC. > >As I've seen SignWriting is an option for the output of LSC, as well as >digitalized video and rendered animations are. > >Other problems we are fasing are the translation itself, and the speech >recognizion. This is an ambitious project and I would like to know if >anybody knows on any think that could help us into this research we >would thank you. > >-- Carlos Th ________________________________ November 28, 1998 Hello Carlos, and welcome to the SignWriting List! Your project sounds very interesting and valuable :-) In regards to the SignWriting part of the project.. I will be happy to create a new Colombian Sign Language version of the SignWriter Computer Program for your project. If you would like this, then here is what we need to do... First, you will need to own the complete SignWriter Computer Program Package, which includes 14 signed languages and 8 spoken languages. One of the spoken languages is Spanish, so this will be helpful to you. It is important that you use the complete computer program, rather than the shareware. As you know, the shareware, which can be downloaded from our web site, is limited, because it is only for writing American Sign Language (ASL). Second, thank you for sending me pictures of the Colombian Fingerspelling handshapes! I can create the Colombian Sign Language Fingerspelling keyboard for you, once you have the complete program. I cannot do it based on the shareware, unfortunately, because our typing system for English in the USA and Canada is not the same as the typing system for Spanish in Colombia...and the fingerspelling symbols have to be placed in the proper place on the keyboard to make it useful for people in Colombia. This sure gets complicated, but it can definitely be done, and I am happy to do it :-) Third, I noticed that there is a handshape used in Colombian fingerspelling, that is not available in the SignWriter 4.3 symbol set right now. The SignWriting system itself can record ALL handshapes, when we write by hand! But because the handshape is not used in the other 14 signed languages we now support, the symbol is not available for typing. So that new handshape has to be added to the existing symbol set in SignWriter 4.3 - so that is another job I will have to do for you. When we are all done, you will have a Colombian Sign Language version of the SignWriter Computer Program, our 15th signed language. In regards to "automatic translation" from spoken Spanish to Colombian Sign Language, I would suggest that you first build a dictionary of Colombian signs, written in SignWriting, in the SignWriter Computer Program. You will be able to add up to 10,000 signs in your dictionary file in the computer. When you have lots of signs written, then you can start facing the issues of grammar and syntax in Colombian Sign Language, which I am sure is very different than the grammar and syntax of spoken Spanish. But first you need your data base of written signs in the dictionary. This is clearly a big project that will take several years. Please keep us informed of your progress, and thanks for writing! Valerie :-) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Valerie Sutton at the DAC Deaf Action Committee for SW SignWriting https://www.SignWriting.org Center For Sutton Movement Writing an educational nonprofit organization Box 517, La Jolla, CA, 92038-0517, USA ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
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