Government of Meghalaya

Sign language uses a combination of hand movements or gestures and facial expressions, functioning as a visual-manual communication system of language unlike spoken languages, which rely on oral production of sounds.

Sign language standardization can take place naturally or may be enforced through a conscious effort to promote one's community. In the standardization process, community members establish, maintain, and decide conventional forms of language. Usually, the standardization process in spoken languages results in documentation of dictionaries accompanied by descriptive grammar that provides an understanding of the overall linguistic structure and similarly for sign languages.

Johnston (2003), discusses the role of signed language dictionaries in standardizing signed languages, explicitly focusing on Australian Sign Language (AUSLAN), and highlights the unique context of signed languages within deaf communities. He elaborates on the developments in dictionaries for sign language and their limitations, emphasizing the importance of producing bilingual, bidirectional dictionaries to promote language standardization effectively. Hence, the online platform can provide a space for recording and sharing signed language lexicons, empowering grassroots language standardization rather than a top-down approach.

In the context of sign language in Meghalaya, the office of Commissioner for Persons with Disability, Government of Meghalaya with NIC, Meghalaya and a team of experts have begun documenting Meghalaya Sign Language (a variety of ISL) lexical items and phrases with efforts to integrate semi-urban and rural varieties. Because of its visual modality, i.e., produced by the hands and facial expressions, producing a writing system for sign language has been challenging. Further, due to the lack of a writing system, the oral/spoken language subsumes the function of writing for the deaf community and its linguistic analysis. The task of documenting culminated in the development of the Meghalaya Sign Bank, an app launched since 2019 and useful to many in bridging the communication gap in educational and public domains. However, to expand the app and reach out to signers across the state, the Meghalaya Sign-Lex (Meghalaya Sign Lexicon) simplifies and facilitates the documentation process.

The Meghalaya Sign-Lex is a technological tool that offers a dynamic platform for collecting and integrating sign language data into a comprehensive corpus. This corpus supports the development of language resources such as a dictionary like the Meg Sign Bank app. The main purpose of this tool is to build a comprehensive database of sign language commonly used by deaf people in all corners of the state to promote inclusion and linguistic diversity. The app has been designed as an open-access platform, allowing sign language users (native signers) to contribute to its growth actively.

In this manner, the purpose of documenting sign language becomes a collaborative approach. Thus, the language documented will be the efforts of a broader community of contributors rather than a selected few, thus ensuring that the signs are gathered from diverse members of the deaf community from all the districts in the state. At the same time, this enables recognition and documentation of varieties of sign languages and dialects. This tool will also minimize exclusion and celebrate and preserve the linguistic heritage of all the sections of the deaf community in different districts. The app serves as a powerful tool for the inclusion and acknowledgment of not only the sign languages used in the state but also the spoken languages of the state.