Glossary

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Second Language Acquisition(also: SLA, L2 Acquisition)

The process by which a person learns a language other than their first (native) language. In deaf education and accessibility, second language acquisition theory is particularly relevant because written English is effectively a second language for native signers of American Sign…

Semantic Network(also: Semantic Web, Associative Network)

A knowledge representation structure in which concepts are represented as nodes and the relationships between them as links or edges. In accessibility and AAC contexts, semantic networks model how words and concepts are associated in the human mind, enabling vocabulary tools to…

Semantic distance(also: Semantic similarity, Word embedding distance)

A computational measure of how different two words are in meaning, typically derived from word embedding models like word2vec that represent words as vectors in a high-dimensional space. In caption evaluation for DHH users, semantic distance between an ASR error and the intended…

Sign Duration(also: Sign Speed, Signing Speed)

The average time spent performing individual signs during sign language production, typically measured in seconds. Sign duration is a key parameter in sign language animation that affects both understandability and user satisfaction. Research has shown that DHH users of ASL…

Sign Language Classifier(also: Classifier Sign, Depicting Sign, Classifier Predicate)

A type of sign in sign languages that is not part of a fixed vocabulary but is created dynamically during discourse to represent a class of objects sharing a common shape, size, or physical characteristic. Classifiers function as "super-pronouns" — they replace and describe…

Sign Language Phonology

The study of the smallest meaningful units that make up signs in signed languages, analogous to phonemes in spoken languages. In American Sign Language, signs are composed of phonological parameters including handshape, movement, location (place of articulation), and non-manual…

Sign Linguistics(also: Sign Language Linguistics)

The scientific study of the structure and properties of sign languages. Sign linguistics examines the phonological, morphological, syntactic, and semantic components of visual-gestural languages. Key parameters studied include handshape (approximately 90 distinct configurations…

Sign Phoneme(also: cheremes, sign language phoneme)

The smallest contrastive units in sign language that bear meaning and distinguish one sign from another, analogous to phonemes in spoken language. Sign phonemes include hand shapes, movements, locations, and orientations that combine to form signs. In sign language recognition…

SignWriting

A writing system for sign languages that uses visual symbols to represent handshapes, movements, facial expressions, and body positions. Created by Valerie Sutton in 1974, SignWriting allows sign languages to be written and read without translation into a spoken language. Unlike…

Signing Space(also: Sign Space)

The three-dimensional area in front of a signer where sign language is produced, typically extending from waist to head height and shoulder width to either side. In American Sign Language and other sign languages, this space serves grammatical functions—locations within it can…

Spatial Grammar(also: Spatial Syntax)

Spatial grammar is the set of grammatical rules that signed languages express through the three-dimensional signing space in front of the signer, rather than through linear word order. Signers establish referents at specific spatial loci, use directional verbs that agree with…

Spatial Inflection(also: Verb Agreement, Directional Verb, Inflecting Verb)

A grammatical process in sign languages where the motion path and orientation of a verb sign are modified based on the 3D locations in space that have been assigned to its subject and/or object during discourse. In American Sign Language and many other sign languages, signers…

Spatial Reference (ASL)(also: Spatial Reference Point, Locus, ASL Spatial Reference)

In American Sign Language and other signed languages, the use of points in the signing space in front of the signer as invisible placeholders for entities under discussion — people, objects, or concepts. A signer may point to, sign near, or direct eye gaze toward a particular…

Speech Acts Theory(also: Speech Act Theory, Illocutionary Acts)

A theory from the philosophy of language, originally developed by J.L. Austin and John Searle, which holds that utterances are not just statements of fact but also actions that accomplish things — such as requesting, promising, warning, or commanding. In assistive technology and…

Stokoe Notation(also: Stokoe System)

A notational system for representing the formational components of sign language signs, devised by William C. Stokoe for the 1965 Dictionary of American Sign Language on Linguistic Principles. The system analyzes each sign into three parameters: location (where the sign is…

Syntactic NMS(also: Syntactic Non-Manual Sign)

Non-manual signs that define sentence types and grammatical structure in sign languages. In ASL, syntactic NMS include raised eyebrows for Yes/No questions, furrowed brows and forward head tilt for WH-questions, head shake for negation, and specific facial configurations for…

Syntactic Parse Tree(also: Parse Tree, Syntactic Tree)

A tree-shaped data structure that represents the grammatical structure of a sentence according to a formal grammar. Internal nodes correspond to phrases (noun phrase, verb phrase, clause, sentence) and leaves correspond to individual words or signs. Parse trees are produced…

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