Glossary
Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.
33 results found in deaf accessibility.
- Mel Spectrogram (Mel-frequency Spectrogram, Log Mel Spectrogram)
- A visual representation of sound that maps audio frequencies onto the mel scale, which approximates how humans perceive pitch — compressing higher frequencies and expanding lower ones to match the non…
- Non-Manual Sign (NMS, Non-Manual Marker, Non-Manual Signal)
- Facial expressions, head movements, eye gaze, mouth movements, and body posture that serve essential grammatical and linguistic functions in sign languages. In ASL, NMS perform lexical functions (dist…
- Sign Language Interpretation (Sign Language Interpreting, SLI)
- The process of conveying spoken or written language into a sign language (or vice versa) by a trained interpreter, enabling communication access for Deaf and hard of hearing individuals. In digital me…
- Sign Language Writing System (Sign Language Script, Sign Language Notation, Sign Language Character System)
- A system of symbols or characters designed to represent sign language in written form. Unlike spoken languages, which have well-established writing systems, sign languages generally lack a standard wr…
- Sign Writing (SignWriting, Sutton SignWriting)
- A graphical notation system for writing sign languages, developed by Valerie Sutton in 1974. Sign Writing uses visual symbols to represent hand shapes, movements, facial expressions, and body position…
- Signing Avatar (Sign Language Avatar, Virtual Signer)
- A computer-generated animated character that produces sign language output, translating text or spoken content into visual sign language for deaf and hard of hearing users. Signing avatars are used in…
- Sound Visualization (Audio Visualization, Sound-to-Visual Mapping)
- The practice of representing audio information through visual means, enabling Deaf or Hard-of-hearing individuals to perceive sound-based information that would otherwise be inaccessible. Sound visual…
- South African Sign Language (SASL)
- The primary sign language used by the Deaf community in South Africa, recognized as one of the country's official languages under the Constitution. SASL has its own grammar, syntax, and vocabulary dis…
- Stenotype (Stenography, Shorthand Typing, Machine Shorthand, Chording)
- A specialised text-entry method that uses a keyboard with fewer keys than a standard QWERTY layout, where multiple keys are pressed simultaneously (chording) to represent phonetic sounds, syllables, o…
- Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD, TTY, Text Telephone, Teletypewriter)
- A specialized device that enables text-based telephone communication for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. TDDs transmit typed text over telephone lines using acoustic coupling or direct connect…
- Teletext (Ceefax, Oracle)
- A text-based information service broadcast within the television signal that allowed viewers to access pages of text and simple graphics using their TV remote control. Originating in the UK with the B…
- Visual Language (Visuo-Gestural Language)
- A language that uses the visual-gestural modality for communication, as opposed to the auditory-vocal modality of spoken languages. Sign languages are visual languages that encode information through …
- Vlog (Video Blog, Video Blogging, Vlogging)
- A video-based form of blogging where individuals create and share content through recorded video rather than written text. For Deaf communities, vlogging has become a particularly important communicat…