Model of a Croatian Sign Language E-Dictionary

Abstract

Although the Croatian sign language (CSL) is the official language of deaf people in Croatia, it is not standardised, it does not have quality textbooks and it has just recently become the subject of research. Due to a different modality of the language and the deficiency of a standardised way of recording it, attempts to create printed CSL dictionaries did not produce quality works, so the need for a quality dictionary still exists. Because of its modality, CSL requires a new medium for a dictionary rich in multimedia and additional data and content which are not necessary for spoken-language dictionaries. This paper gives a brief overview of the existing CSL dictionaries, describes the difficulties which lexicographers come across when working with sign languages, and shows what qualities and data should an online CSL dictionary have, and what could be added to it in time.