Projects
SignON - Sign Language Translation Mobile Application and Open Communications Framework KU Leuven
Nowadays any communication barrier is detrimental to society. This project will research and develop the SignON communication service that uses machine translation to translate between Sign and spoken languages. This service will facilitate the exchange of information among deaf and hard of hearing, and hearing individuals. In this user-centric and community-driven project we will tightly collaborate with European deaf and hard of hearing ...
Erasmus+ Key Action : MONEUL - INCLUSIVE DIGITAL LEARNING ABOUT THE EUROPEAN UNION FOR HUMANITIES, LANGUAGES AND TEACHER TRAINING DEPARTMENTS IN MONGOLIA (MONEUL) Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Mongolian partner and a Mongolian newcomer, all recognised by the Mongolian competent authorities. Apart from 3 Mongolian public
and private HEIs, the consortium includes a Belgian HEI, a Polish HEI and a European Association. It fosters capacity building for and
development of deliverables in the ...
On the role of eye gaze in Flemish Sign Language: A multifocal eye-tracking study on the phenomena of online turn processing and depicting KU Leuven
This dissertation provides a first systematic account into the role of eye gaze in Flemish Sign Language discourse. Using a multifocal eye-trakcking approach, I investigated 1) unaddressed participants' gaze behavior and 2) the role of eye gaze in the coordination of depictions. In the first study, I used eye gaze as an empirical measure of anticipation processes. I have thereby shown that the tight temporal coordination of interaction is ...
The emergence of phonology within six generations Vrije Universiteit Brussel
#AboutVGTInVGT - Science communication on the Flemish Sign Language Research Ghent University
In the past two decades, pioneering and high-quality research into the linguistic structure of Flemish Sign Language (VGT) has been carried out in Flanders, including at Ghent University. This resulted in academic publications, but the results rarely reached the target audience, namely deaf signers in Flanders. The valorisation project #AboutVGTInVGT aims to provide an answer to this through online social anchoring. The aim is to bring all ...
Take Signing to the Child. On the Parental Use of Visual Communication Strategies, and Deaf ChildrenU+2019s Visual Communication and Early Flemish Sign Language. Ghent University
This dissertation wants to deliver an original contribution to the existing national and international Sign Language Acquisition and Assessment research, mainly in four domains:
First, the exploratory case study is the first detailed description of a moderately deaf childU+2019s Flemish Sign Language development, with native exposure to Flemish Sign Language (VGT) from birth up to the age of 24 months. Remarkable linguistic and ...
Representation Learning for Sign Language Translation Using Linguistic and Knowledge-based Constraints KU Leuven
This PhD project is an integral part of the Horizon 2020 research project SignON, which unites 17 European partners in a research project that aims to facilitate the exchange of information among deaf and hard of hearing, and hearing individuals across Europe by developing automatic sign language translation tools. Recent machine learning methods based on neural transformer architectures have greatly improved the state-of-the art in natural ...
Using artificial intelligence to facilitate communication between deaf and hearing people Ghent University
According to the WHO, over 5% of the world population suffers from hearing loss. This is expected to double by 2050. Hearing loss is estimated to cost society over 750 billion US dollars globally, per year. The Flemish government subsidizes up to 36 hours of interpreter aid per deaf person per year, which also leads to high costs. These interpreters facilitate communication between people with hearing loss and those without. After all, the ...
A descriptive study of linguistic interpreting strategies in Dutch - Flemish Sign Language interpreting. Exploring interpreters' perspectives to understand the what, how and why. KU Leuven
Research topic
This study sets out to explore linguistic interpreting strategies used by Flemish Sign Language (VGT) interpreters in a monologic simultaneous interpreting setting (Dutch - VGT). It aims to describe the strategic behaviour of interpreters as reflected in their linguistic actions. This focus on the linguistic decision-making process is combined with a desire to understand what motivates the behaviour. Hence the study ...