Multimedia dictionary of American Sign Language

The Multimedia Dictionary of American Sign Language (MM-DASL) is a Macintosh application designed to function as a bilingual (ASL-English) dictionary. It presents ASL signs in full-motion digital video using Apple's QuickTime technology. Major functions of the application include the capability to search for ASL signs by entering English words; the capability to search for ASL signs directly (by specifying formational features); and the capability to perform fuzzy searching (in both ASL and English search modes). For each ASL lexical entry, the dictionary contains definitions of the sign, grammatical information, usage notes, successful English translations, and other information. In addition to serving as the core engine for the MM-DASL, the application is capable of being localized to any signed language, thus allowing researchers and developers in other countries to use the MM-DASL to develop their own signed language dictionaries.