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American Sign Language is a language different from English,
with its own unique syntax and semantics. It is at least as
different from English as any other spoken foreign language.
An automatic English to ASL translator would give the Deaf
greater access to the English-speaking world.
The current emphasis of the project is in developing the tools to
generate ASL signs as animation. This poses additional challenges
to those of conventional animation, where a design specifies a set
of motions that are carried out along a single timeline. Here the
goal is to develop transitions between sequences of signs that
will be acceptable to the Deaf. In particular, we are looking
at ways to avoid the return to a neutral position between signs and
nonmanual signals.
For more information, visit DePaul's
ASL Web Site
Mary Jo Davidson and Jorge Toro completed their dissertations
in this area of inquiry.
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