An automatic rule-based translation system to spanish sign language (LSE)

Abstract

This chapter presents an automatic translation system from Spanish language into Spanish Sign Language (LSE) based on the use of grammar and morphology rules in order to ensure its versatility. The system accepts input from spoken or written Spanish and the output corresponds to a representation format adaptable and interpretable by any other system capable of producing animations. The translation of a sentence or phrase is carried out in four steps, each of which is performed by a different module: a morphosyntactic analyzer, a grammatical transformer, a morphological transformer and, finally, a sign generator. The system has been successfully integrated in a 3D animation engine and has been tested with a series of phrases, with very satisfactory results, both in speed and in quality. © 2009 Springer-Verlag London.