The Social Welfare Bureau (IAS) announced in a statement yesterday the official launch of its online “Macau Sign Language Glossary Bank”.
According to the statement, the website marks a new milestone in the localisation and standardisation of Macau’s sign language.
The online sign language database, the statement said, was established by the Chinese University of Hong Kong Sign Linguistics and Deaf Studies Centre, commissioned by the bureau. It aims to advance the standardisation of Macau Sign Language, preserve local sign language heritage, and promote social inclusion.
According to the statement, Macau is home to approximately 6,350 hearing-impaired individuals, or 0.9 percent of the population, for whom sign language serves as a primary channel for accessing information and participating equally in civil society. In alignment with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the government is actively fostering an environment conducive to sign language acquisition, promoting public awareness of deaf linguistic identity, and creating conditions for the full social integration of the deaf community, the statement said.
The database, that statement said, was developed with the assistance of Macau’s deaf community, who contributed to the collection, analysis, and integration of local sign language data. Users can search for instructional video demonstrations of commonly used Macau Sign Language vocabulary and its variants through multiple methods, including thematic categories, initial handshapes, or text input. Detailed information on the usage patterns of these lexical variations across different age groups within Macau’s deaf community is also provided.
Readers may access the database via the following link https://macslbank.ias.gov.mo/tc/
This undated and unlocated handout photo provided by the Social Welfare Bureau (IAS) shows yesterday’s meeting introducing its online “Macau Sign Language Glossary Bank”.
