India’s First Sign Language (ISL) Dictionary
The government is all set to come up with the country’s first-of-its-kind dictionary which aims to bring uniformity in sign languages used by hearing and speech impaired people across the nation.
The Indian Sign Language (ISL) dictionary, which is being developed by the Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre (ISLRTC), has so far compiled 6,032 Hindi and English words and their corresponding graphic representation of the signs which are used in daily life. The dictionary is being developed in both print and video format.
“A comprehensive Indian Sign Language Dictionary is the need of the hour to facilitate communication between the hearing and speech impaired and create a basic database for further policy making. It will contain graphic representations of popular signs used by the hearing impaired and will also include regional variations. Apart from that, it will have legal, technical and medical terms. “It will promote the use of sign language for hearing impaired students at schools and colleges. It will also enable government officials, teachers, professionals, community leaders and the public at large to learn and use sign language. “It will enable the public utility organizations like banks, hospitals, airports, courts and others to utilize the services of interpreters.