A Framework for Non-Manual Gestures in a Synthetic Signing System

According to the RNID, 1 in 7 people in the UK have severe hearing loss. Among these, a much smaller number, around 1 in 1000, have been deaf from birth or have never understood speech. For these pre-lingually deaf people, their natural language is often sign. Sign language is a complete natural language, used for culturally-rich communication, with many local dialects and idioms. In the UK, British Sign Language (BDA, 1991) is officially recognised as a minority language. BSL has its own grammar and phonetic structure which is independent of English. Sign language users often have a relatively low reading age for written English, having never learned spoken language. BSL is their language of choice for social interaction. In addition to authentic sign languages, such as BSL, there are also classes of sign language that are closer to spoken forms. In the UK, Sign Supported English (SSE) uses BSL signs in simplified form, presented in English word order. Finger spelling uses BSL signs for the alphabet. SSE is often used in education, but is not regarded as an acceptable alternative to BSL.