Resolving Issues in Documenting Visual Sign Language: Way Forward in the Era of Digital Communication

Abstract

Visual sign language has been in existence for quite some time as the world’s most used third language. It comes in different flavours which can be likened to a dialect. Nigeria as a country has three different types with ASL (American Sign Language) as the most used in school education for the deaf. Issues in documenting the sign languages include determining what to document, reason for documentation and precisely who to document. During the critical investigation, studies proved that digital communication rooted in Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be adopted as an innovative solution to the issues. This is primarily a qualitative study, library research method was employed relying on secondary data. Conclusively, documenting visual sign languages will preserve and promote the various sign dialects among the hearing-impaired and also non-signers willing to learn. Suggestively, Artificial Intelligence should be ethically harnessed in communication and designs for documentation, education and social interactions. Therefore, Communication design experts, Prompt Engineers, Media and Information Technologists with the deaf educators should team up for a robust sign language data bank while relying on AI. All these are key, not only for documentation, but will also aid in the official recognition of the Nigerian visual sign language.