Lexique LSF

The French Sign Language (LSF) was banned in 1880 from all teaching institutions. From then on, it continued expanding in an uncoordinated way throughout special schools. In 1991, a new French law allowed deaf people to choose a bilingual education (French and sign language), and since February 2005 each school is required to integrate every devoted child who wishes it, no matter his handicap . All public websites must also become accessible. With this new context, the LSF grows using regional differences, and users invent new signs to translate new concepts. However, the sign language cannot count on traditional media to spread out new expressions or words, since it is nor spoken nor written. Therefore the sign vocabulary differs depending on geographical and social situations, furthermore if the concept is specific and elaborate. The website LexiqueLSF wishes to propose users a contributing and efficient tool, allowing a large diffusion of new signs and concepts. A short analysis of the existing supports will lead us to present the main issues and to describe precisely the technical and linguistic solutions we chose, as well as some of the problems we met. Likewise, all the elements composing the website should be considered as a concept in order to imagine complete accessibility to deaf people, and not only to blind people. We do not wish to make a simple dictionary. Our aim is to allow exchanges between users, to encourage them to invent and spread neologisms, and to make sure that the represented concepts are clear and understandable. Publishing a new notion requires to create a number of descriptors (in French and in sign language, illustrations, examples... ) and to relate this notion to others already existing (opposite or similar concepts...). Each new sign proposed will be completely described, therefore it can easily be appropriated. Thanks to this organization, the same concept can be shown in different ways depending on the role it must play in context (classification, illustration, rendering, etc.). One of the most important design patterns is the possibility of dynamically changing the classification system. Users will be able to choose various descriptors to build a classification view. A reliable, but not compulsory, validation system will guarantee only serious suggestions. Three steps are needed: grammatical validation, sign validation (both require experts) and community validation. Our production is thus very different from already existing paper or digital dictionaries, containing only everyday life vocabulary and almost no definitions, nor use examples. The best ones sort words according to the space location and configuration of the sign, but do not recognise morphological variations. Let us also observe that these dictionaries are not ”bilingual” since they are accessible only to French speakers. There are two discursive enunciation strategies according to (Cuxac, 2000). Signer may choose to show without saying, or to say in showing. In the future LexiqueLSF will try to manage both of this kind of signs: standards signs from dictionary and structures having a great iconic representation from morphemic elements. 1. Context presentation The French Sign Language (LSF) was banned in 1880 from all teaching institutions. From then on, it continued expanding in an uncoordinated way throughout special schools. In 1991, a new French law allowed deaf people to choose a bilingual education (French and sign language), and since February 2005 each school is required to integrate every devoted child who wishes it, no matter his handicap . All public websites must also become accessible. With this new context, the LSF grows using regional differences, and users invent new signs to translate new concepts. However, the sign language cannot count on traditional media to spread out new expressions or words, since it is nor spoken nor written. Therefore the sign vocabulary differs depending on geographical and social situations, furthermore if the concept is specific and elaborate.