Introducing the
Historical Sign
Language Database
A new electronic technology for browsing through historical ASL films and books was
demonstrated by Dr. Ted Supalla of Georgetown University on July 7th at the 2016 Convention of the
National Association of the Deaf in Phoenix, Arizona. The computerized Historical Sign Language
Database (HSLDB.georgetown.edu) includes the 14 sign language films made in 1910-1920 by the
National Association of the Deaf under the leadership of George Veditz, along with three sign language
dictionaries published during the same period (Long 1910, 1918; Higgins 1923; Michaels 1923). The
films and dictionaries are annotated and catalogued on an interactive, searchable HSLDB, which is
housed at Georgetown University and available online at no charge. The project is funded in part by the
National Science Foundation Research Grant BCS1455756.
Dr. Supalla explained that the combination of the film and dictionary corpora provides a rich
context for examining synchronic variation of a particular sign token as used 100 years ago. This context
has provided critical valid data, which was included in the 2015 Sign Language Archaeology book he coauthored with Patricia Clark, published by Gallaudet University Press. In the HSLDB, researchers and
historians can view the language of sign masters who presented literary work ranging from political
rhetoric to translations of written classic documents. Furthermore Dr. Supalla highlighted the
technological capacity for a rapid search for a specific sign or word, framing this as an essential step in
the development of a virtual infrastructure for scholarly inquiry and dialogue on the linguistic and
cultural heritage of ASL. Tutorials and transcription keys are available online as well.
A snapshot of the HSLDB home page <><><> Click here for the full browse of the database.
The Power of ASL
12
Fall 2016 – Issue 3