Films and Dictionaries Toolkit

An essential part of research requires the use of appropriate tools for data analysis. Many of these tools are demonstrated in this relational database ranging from the provision of some background or contextual information about the films and dictionaries included in our databases to the manner in which the data is organized. To assist the researcher or student, we have included here the following informational tools:

• Specifications about production date and length of each film. This information came from the Gallaudet University Archives.
• Glosses, the use of English words to represent signs in written form, are an inherent part of the Comparative Linguistics databases. For a better understanding of how this particular tool contributes to effective research analysis, please review the information contained in Glosses as a tool.
• Two transcription keys that provide information as to how to read the GLOSS transcriptions included in each database, the Alphabetical key and the Category key. The Categories include: sign type values about the general formation of the sign, pro-form & determiner values, classifier values, specific hand values, specific location values, specific path direction values, body orientation values, manner of movement values, number morpheme values, aspectual morpheme values, and specific values found in the notes portion of the film transcriptions.
• Contextual information about the films and dictionaries, including: titles, biographical information about the authors and master signers, and an outline of each film is available in each database.