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Structure of the Brazilian Sign Language (Libras) for Computational Tools: Citizenship and Social Inclusion
Conference Paper · September 2010 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-16324-1_41 · Source: DBLP
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Cayley Guimaraes, Diego R. Antunes, Daniela de F. Guilhermino Trindade, Rafaella A. Lopes da Silva, and Laura Sanchez Garcia
UFPR, Curitiba, Brazil [email protected],[email protected], [email protected],{rafaella.a.lopes,sg.laura}@gmail.com
Abstract. This work presents a computational model (XML) of the Brazilian Sign Language (Libras), based on its phonology. The model was used to create a sample of representative signs to aid the recording of a base of videos whose aim is to support the development of tools to support genuine social inclusion of the deaf.
Keywords: Libras, Accessibility, Citizenship, Computational Model
1 Introduction
The Brazilian Sign Language (Libras) is the language used by the members of the deaf community, academia and related communities for access to information, citizenship, literacy, among others. The lack of adequate tools in Libras plays a major role in social exclusion and lack of citizenship of the deaf. In order to aid social inclusion of the deaf, taken here to mean a real access to full citizenship, the significant gap of technological artefacts must be filled. A model of the computational description of the phonetic structure of Libras is presented to serve as the foundation stone of a vast set of tools to be constructed. The proposed model and its correspondent XML is presented. The model will be used to create a sample of representative signs to aid the recording of a base of videos whose aim is to support the development of tools to support genuine social inclusion of the deaf.
2 A World of Gestures. Gestures for the World
Skliar [15] echoes other authors in understanding that the deaf communication issue demands that social, political and citizenship dimensions be aggregated. Linguistic conceptions should be used, thus removing the deaf persons from the deficiency realm and bringing them to a status of belonging to a minority outside orality. Deafness is more than a ”loss of communication, a prototype of self exclusion, of solitude, of silence, obscurity and isolation”. Fernandes [6] 2 Structure of the Brazilian Sign Language for Computational Tools advocates that the use of the sign language by a deaf person implies a specify relationship of the deaf with her own world, a different way of the deaf being herself. Santos [14] conclaims science to not only describe the world, but to under- stand it intimately and to unveil the human possibilities, turning the knowledge into practical, thus leading to inclusion. In this sense, the deaf community must be respected in its culture, its identity, its own language. According to [12], ”[...] citizenship expresses a set of rights that give the person the possibility to actively participate in the life and the government of her people. She who is without citizenship is marginalized or excluded from social life [...]”. To exercise the right of citizenship is a necessity and it is visibly present on civil, social-economical and political rights: ”the broadening of participation in citizenship implies a broadening of the right to information as a premise, a given”. Pinsky & Pinsky [12] say that ”[...] these are the two grounding principles of citizenship: [...] the vast access to information regarding (the persons) rights”. Citizens must have access to information so that they may develop critical sense. At this point, it is clear to us that deaf people need adequate technological artefacts that would aid them access information, and, consequently, aid them exercise their citizenship. This article promotes citizenship in the sense that it takes a fundamental step necessary to the proposal and development of informational artefacts in Libras for the deaf community, which, today, is a distant reality.
3 Communication in Gestures - Sign Languages
Sign languages are considered by linguistic science as a legitimate linguistic sys- tem, of spacial-gestural-visual manner, capable of providing the deaf an adequate means to realize all of their linguistic potentialities. Sign languages are not uni- versal, and, just like any oral language, it is different in various countries, and some may vary even within the same country or regions or among deaf commu- nities [13]. Approximately 90% of deaf children are born to hearing parents, and, therefore, are not necessarily exposed to the gestural universe that would allow them to acquire sign language naturally [6]. This concept makes it necessary to use Libras as a mediator in computational tools and interactions geared towards citizenship of the deaf. In Brazil, Libras became the official language of the deaf by law decree num- ber 10.436/2002, that guaranteed rights such as information access in education institutions, the communication in government job selection and the mandatory teaching of Libras as a subject in teaching under-graduate courses [4]. In this context, it is highly justified the proposal of a computational structure that represents Libras to allow it to be serve the many purposes of inclusion of the deaf person. The following methodology was followed to elaborate the current proposal: – Literature Review: needs of the deaf communities; history of exclusion; ex- isting models and related works. Structure of the Brazilian Sign Language for Computational Tools 3
– Meeting with community representative. – Additional conferences with specialists: talks with professors, linguists, pro- ficient users of Libras. – Proposal of the Computational Model. – Review and Evaluation of the Proposal: meeting with linguists and a consul- tation with a sample of members of the deaf community from the Brazilian State of Parana, to validate the proposal.
There are very few works and tools in the literature. And, the tools available do not take the actual needs of the deaf into consideration. Some works as [1], [3], [2] (with a 3D avatar), use video, but the sign explanation, exemples and definitions are not in the sign language. For [11] there is video and SignWriting, but, again not suitable for the deaf, unless she knows the other language of the country. Stokoe [16] analyzed the ASL, stating that the signs are formed by three inde- pendent parameters that had a limited number of combinations: location; hand configuration and movement. Linguists such as [9] described a fourth parameter: the orientation of the palm of the hand. Additionally, the literature shows that signs have other elements that can be used to describe them, such as: structure for the use of both hands, movement repetitions, non-manual expressions, signs that have two or more hand configurations, among others. The model proposed in this article is based on the compilation and adap- tation of phonological models [10], [13], [7] and [5] which were recognized by specialists as relevant and pertinent for the current proposal mainly due to the fact that they were used for teaching Libras, and also because they were fairly known by the community. Thus, a model was developed based on the parameters handshape, location, movement, orientation (of the palm of the hand) and non- manual expressions, including several traits to describe, in detail, the manner in which signs are formed. The figure 1 shows the basic structure of this proposed model:
Fig. 1. Basic structure of the proposed model
In addition to the existing models, the proposed model adopts two extra segments for the Hold and for the Movement: Dominant hand and Non-dominant hand. The signs in Libras are the same whether one performs using the right or the left hand, although the literature specifies the use of the right hand when describing a sign. The supporting hand have the same segments as the main hand, with its own attributes. 4 Structure of the Brazilian Sign Language for Computational Tools
The Location is another Hold segment defined as the place in the body, in space or on the supporting hand where the sign is articulated. The Orientation of the Palm of the Hand is that of [7]. The Local Movement segment was placed in the Hold segment due to the fact that there are signs that are performed by these particular movements, which are characterized more by oscillations of the other segments such as fingers, wrist and forearm, better described in Hold than in the Movement segment. The Non-Manual Expression include movements of the face, eyes, head and thorax. These expressions are important because they aid in the definition and differentiation of the meaning of certain signs. For instance, facial expressions may convey joy, sadness etc. The Non-Manual Expressions may also be used to represent disguised signs. Movement is defined as the actions of the hand in space and around the enunciator. The type deals with aspects of movements (e.g. circular, semicircular, straight etc.), interaction and contact. The Quality of the movement contains temporal, non-temporal aspects (related to the extension and the tension with which the movement is executed) and velocity. As for the Directionality, the sign may be unidirectional or bidirectional, according to [13]. The Plane XYZ of Movement presents an additional advantaged for computational treatment since it works with coordinates X (side), Y (height) and Z (depth). The Frequency refers to whether there is or there isn’t repetition of the movement that forms the sign. The number of repetitions may or may not be specified, but its presence indicates several meanings for that sign, such as the intensity. The values for the parameters are considered in reference to whom is executing the sign. The proposed model may be used in different representations, such as XML, Data Base or other data structures deemed necessary for additional computa- tional work. Figure 2 shows the sign ”procurar” (to search).
Fig. 2. Visual example of sign ”procurar” (to search) in Libras
The proposed structure expresses different aspects that occur in parallel for the sign, and ”procurar” (to search) is composed by Hold, Non-Manual Expres- sion and Movement, and it is, therefore, complete in its highest level (represented in the following XML code). If a given sign were to have more than a Hold and/or a Non-Manual Expression and/or a Movement, it would then be the case of sim- ply add the parameter ”id” to represent the sequentiality. The Non-Manual Expression is important to show the intensity and the semantic complement of the sign, as represented by the pre-defined interrogation expression. Structure of the Brazilian Sign Language for Computational Tools 5
Example of the sign ”procurar” (to search) in the proposed model.
Unlike the literature, that approaches the structure of sign languages as mere spelling, or as static signs, and that doesn’t take into account the real needs of the deaf community, this article advances precisely on these aspects, which were responsible for limitations in related works. Therefore, the proposed model contemplates elements such as: real needs of the deaf, solid theoretical basis, interdisciplinary between linguistics and computer science, the validation from specialists and natural users of Libras, a robust approach to the description of the signs both socially and academically. As can be seen, the proposed structure is an initial step to a series of applications:
– Support environments for teaching/learning: of Libras, Portuguese and any discipline of knowledge for children and adults of the deaf community who are still not alphabetized in their first language, all mediated by Libras; – Virtual environments of communication for the deaf community, that con- tributes to changes in prejudicial social practices originated from the com- munity itself and from the oral society; – Virtual environment of collaborative construction of knowledge that stimu- late the universal access and participation, that promote social interaction of the differences and environments in which each individual is called upon to contribute according to her potential.
References
1. American Sign Language Browser, http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/aslweb 2. Auslan Signbank, http://www.auslan.org.au 3. ASL Pro.com, http://www.aslpro.com/cgi-bin/aslpro/aslpro.cgi 4. Brasil 2002. Diario Oficial da Republica Federativa do Brasil. Lei n. 10436, de 24 de abril de 2002: Dispoe sobre a Libras (Lingua Brasileira de Sinais e da outras providencias). Abril, 2002. 5. Capovilla, F.C., Raphael, W.D., Mauricio, A.C.L.: Novo Deit-Libras: Dicionario Enciclopedico Ilustrado Trilingue. Edusp, So Paulo (2009) 6. Fernandes, S.: Avaliacao em Lingua Portuguesa para Alunos Surdos: Algumas con- sideracoes. SEED/SUED/DEE, Curitiba (2006) 7. Ferreira-Brito, L.: Por uma gramatica de Linguas de Sinais. Tempo Brasileiro, Rio de Janeiro (1995) 8. Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatistica (IBGE), http://www.ibge.gov.br 9. Klima, E., Bellugi, U.: The signs of language. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University (1979) 10. Liddell, S.K., Johnson, R.E.: American Sign Language: the Phonological Base. Sign Language Studies. 64, 95–278 (1989) 11. LSFB - Belgique Francophone Sign Language, http://www.lsfb.be 12. Pinsky, J., Pinsky, C.: Historia da Cidadania. Editora Contexto, Sao Paulo (2003). 13. Quadros, R.M., Karnopp, L.B.:Lingua de Sinais Brasileira: Estudos Linguisticos. Artmed, Porto Alegre (2004) 14. Santos, B.S.: Um discurso sobre as ciencias. Afrontamento, Porto (2002) 15. Skliar, C.:A Surdez: Um Olhar Sobre a Diferenca. Mediacao, Porto Alegre (1999) 16. Stokoe, W.C.: Sign Language Structure. Silver Spring, Linstok Press. (1960)
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