Greek Sign Language Research Articles

Educational resources and implementation of a Greek sign language synthesis architecture

In this paper, we present how creation and dynamic synthesis of linguistic resources of Greek Sign Language (GSL) may serve to support development and provide content to an educational multitask platform for the teaching of GSL in early elementary school classes. The presented system utilizes standard virtual character (VC) animation technologies for the synthesis of sign sequences/streams, exploiting digital linguistic resources of both lexicon and grammar of GSL. Input to the system is written Greek text, which is transformed into GSL and animated on screen. To achieve this, a syntactic parser decodes the structural patterns of written Greek and matches them into equivalent patterns of GSL, which are then signed by a VC. The adopted notation system for the representation of GSL phonology incorporated in the system’s lexical knowledge database, is Hamburg Notation System (HamNoSys). For the implementation of the virtual signer tool, the definition of the VC follows the h-anim standard and is implemented in a web browser using a standard VRML plug-in.

Deaf and Hearing Individuals' Beliefs About the Capabilities of Deaf People

The study explored the beliefs of 100 residents of Greece about the capabilities of deaf people living in that country. Participants included deaf adults who communicated in Greek Sign Language (GSL), deaf adults who communicated orally, hearing adults who attended GSL courses, and hearing adults who did not attend such courses. Beliefs were explored through the ODP (Opinions About Deaf People) scale (Berkay, Gardner, & Smith, 1995) and an open-ended interview. All participant groups viewed deaf people's capabilities positively, but Deaf users of GSL expressed the most positive beliefs. The findings suggest that less positive beliefs reflect diverse ideological views toward GSL and Deaf culture or an awareness of the obstacles preventing deaf people from developing their potential. The Deaf community's role in empowering deaf people and the role of GSL courses in promoting awareness regarding deaf people are also discussed.

Name signs in Greek sign language.

Name signs have existed in Greek Deaf culture since antiquity. However, little is known about Greek Sign Language (GSL) and the Greek Deaf community. Based on interviews with 200 people, the phonological characteristics of Greek name signs are described, as well as the frequency of occurrence of specific name signs and the influence of spoken Greek. Comparisons are made with American Sign Language and the naming process in general Greek culture. The Greek Deaf community uses both types of name signs, descriptive name signs (DNS) and arbitrary name signs (ANS). The most popular form of naming uses the DNS process. Name signs are not passed down within families but are assigned by members of the Deaf community or by Deaf peers in the educational setting. Once a name sign has been assigned it stays with the recipient, usually for life. Traditionally, most name signs describe personal characteristics, but with many hearing people now learning GSL, initialized signs are appearing. Whether the Greek Deaf community will accept this practice remains uncertain.

Design and Development of a Bilingual Multimedia Educational Tool for Teaching Chemistry Concepts to Deaf Students in Greek Sign Language

In this paper the design and development of a multimedia system which serves as a bilingual chemistry educational tool for deaf students is presented. Details of the architecture of the tool, its functionality and formative evaluation results are also presented. Furthermore the process to arrive at the chemistry terminology in Greek Sign Language used throughout the tool is briefly described.

A Web adaptive educational system for people with hearing difficulties

In this paper we present a web adaptive educational tool for the Greek Sign Language. The design and the implementation of the tool were partially funded by national bodies. The paper presents the ...