Showing papers by "Sherman Wilcox published in 2003"

The Multimedia Dictionary of American Sign Language: Learning Lessons about Language, Technology, and Business

Abstract: The Multimedia Dictionary of American Sign Language (MM-DASL) was conceived in the late 19805 as a melding of the pioneering work in American Sign Language (ASL) lexicography that William C. Stokoe and his colleagues had carried out decades earlier and the newly emerging computer technologies that were integrating the use of graphical user-interface designs, rapidly searchable databases, and the display of video data. The integration of signed language lexicography and computer technology seemed to be an opportunity to make their work more widely accessible. This article reports on that undertaking. History of the Project The Multimedia Dictionary of American Sign Language (MM-DASL) was conceived in the late 19805 as a melding of the pioneering work in American Sign Language (ASL) lexicography that William C. Stokoe and his colleagues had carried out decades earlier and the newly emerging computer technologies that were integrating the use of graphical user-interface designs, rapidly searchable databases, and the display of video data. As a signed language linguist, I was quite familiar with the Dictionary of American Sign Language on Linguistic Principles (DASL) (Stokoe, Casterline, and Croneberg 1965). Because I was also an instructor in the signed language interpreting program at the University of New Mexico (UNM), I knew that, as useful as the DASL was to linguists, few of my students knew about it and even fewer actually used it as a language-learning resource. I had always been fascinated with the capabilities of computers and was witnessing the rapid growth that was occurring in multimedia technologies. The integration of the two-signed language lexicography and computer technology-seemed like an opportunity to make the DASL more widely accessible. The MM-DASL was developed under a Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grant from the National Institutes of Health. SBIR grants are funded in two phases. The initial phase is funded for a period of six months to determine the feasibility of a concept. Once the first phase has been successfully conducted, grant recipients submit a phase II proposal. Phase I funding extends for two years, during which the research and development efforts take place. The SBIR program granted funding to the MM-DASL project for both phases. As its name implies, SBIR funding must be made to a small business. Because at the time that I conceived of the project I was employed by a university and did not wish to establish my own small business, I contacted Stokoe and asked whether he would allow me to submit an SBIR grant proposal under the auspices of Linstok Press, the small business that he operated to publish books about signed language and the scholarly journal Sign Language Studies. He agreed, and, together with several of my colleagues at UNM, we developed the phase I proposal. During the period between phase I and phase II of the MM-DASL project, Stokoe sold Linstok Press to Sign Media, Inc. (SMI), in Burtonsville, Maryland. Phase II of the project thus was submitted through SMI; all of the research and development took place under the management of SMI. Goals of the MM-DASL Project The overall goals of the MM-DASL project were the following: * To develop a computer version of the DASL * To enable users to search for words in two ways: (1) by entering English words and searching for ASL entries that are possible translation equivalents ("how do you sign 'mother'?") and (2) by entering pronunciation criteria (that is, ASL phonological features) and searching for the ASL entry ("I saw a sign made using an open hand with the thumb touching the chin. What does it mean?") * To display actual video of the ASL lexical entries, not line drawings or other static graphical depictions that print media dictionaries commonly display To provide as wide a range of lexicographic information as possible; our original goal was to include definitions, grammatical category, synonyms and antonyms, related forms, and so forth. …