The Inclusion of sign language on the Swiss Web ecosystem

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17411/jacces.v13i1.370

Abstract

Websites are a primary means of communication between public/private organisations and the general public. Therefore, websites must be accessible to all internet users to maximise their reach and efficacy, including those with hearing disabilities using sign language. Around 10,000 deaf people and an equal number of non-deaf people – such as CODA, hard-of-hearing, interpreters, and relatives - communicate using sign language (SL) in Switzerland (SGB-FSS, 2016). SL is, in fact, the preferred means of communication among the deaf community for two primary reasons. SL provides greater detailed and accurate information than written communication for its deaf users, given its expressive nature and many deaf people consider it part of their identity. In modern society, the Web has revealed itself as a new medium to convey and receive information since its inception more than 30 years ago. However, little is known about the actual presence of SL in the Web, particularly in the Swiss web ecosystem. This study showcases the preliminary results of our research into the presence of sign language in the Swiss web ecosystem. Looking at 97 websites of Swiss public institutions, universities, companies, news portals, and online shops, we investigated whether videos on their websites provided SL interpretation. We found that less than a third of the websites investigated had one or more videos. We then analysed the common characteristics of a subset of the videos (French-speaking Swiss SL videos) and checked whether they provided an equivalent of the websites’ textual content. We found that those videos were mostly integrated on a web page dedicated to accessibility. They also had non-oral subtitles and were typically medical or legal-themed. Based on our results, we could argue that the presence of SL in the Swiss web ecosystem is anecdotal, especially if compared with the amount of written information that is included on those websites.

Author Biographies

Bastien David, Department of Translation Technology (TIM), University of Geneva

Bastien David is a Research Assistant at the Translation Technology Department of the Faculty of Translation and Interpreting at the University of Geneva since November 2018. He holds a MSc in Science and Technologies of Information and Communication (MASTIC), at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB). As part of the BabelDr project, he is working on the creation of virtual characters that will automatically translate from French into the Sign Language of French-speaking Switzerland (LSF-CH). Since February 2018, he is co-founder and leader of a project for cultural accessibility to Sign Language in French-speaking Belgium called the Guide du Signaire.

Lucía Morado Vázquez, Department of Translation Technology (TIM), University of Geneva

Lucía Morado Vázquez is a Senior Research Associate (colaboratrice scientifique II) at the Faculty of Translation and Interpreting, University of Geneva, on the areas of localisation, computer-assisted translation tools and information technology. Lucía obtained a PhD in localisation at the Localisation Research Centre, based in the Department of Computer Science and Information Systems at the University of Limerick, Ireland. Her PhD research was conducted in association with the Centre for Next Generation Localisation. She also holds a BA in translation and interpreting from the University of Salamanca, Spain. Since 2009, she has been a voting member of the XLIFF Technical Committee and the XLIFF Promotion and Liaison Subcommittee since its establishment. Lucía’s research interests are standards of localisation, localisation training and translation memories’ metadata.

Elisa Casalegno, Department of Translation Technology (TIM), University of Geneva

Elisa Casalegno has been a Research and Teaching Assistant at the Translation Technology Department of the Faculty of Translation and Interpreting (FTI) at the University of Geneva since September 2018. Having graduated with a BA in Multilingual Communication in 2015, she went on to complete a Master's degree in Translation Technologies in 2018, both of which she obtained at the FTI. Since November 2019, she has also been working as a coordinator for SuisseTra, a Swiss association that supports the development of translation technology. In 2021, she joined the team of the transversal course Comprendre le numérique. She has supervised two groups of students who worked on projects in the fields of web accessibility and cyber-security for NGOs. Her research interests and teaching experience include project management and quality assurance, localisation, and multilingual accessibility. She is currently working on her PhD project on text simplification in an educational setting.

References

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Published

2023-05-31

How to Cite

David, B., Morado Vázquez, L., & Casalegno, E. (2023). The Inclusion of sign language on the Swiss Web ecosystem. Journal of Accessibility and Design for All, 13(1), 1–42. https://doi.org/10.17411/jacces.v13i1.370

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 1 (2023): Journal of Accessibility and Design for All

Section

Society and Economics

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Copyright (c) 2023 Bastien David, Lucía Morado Vázquez, Elisa Casalegno

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