ufs-za/human_language_technology_for_sasl

Human language technology for South African Sign Language # 🤟 South African Sign Language Human Language Technology (SASL HLT) Welcome to the official repository for **South African Sign Language Human Language Technology (SASL HLT)**. All of this work falls within the scope of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Digital Futures at the University of the Free State. This initiative promotes open, inclusive, and ethical development of HLT tools, datasets, and models for SASL. The project is non-commercial and maintained by researchers at the **University of the Free State**, guided by Ubuntu ethics and a commitment to linguistic justice. --- ## 🌍 Purpose This repository is dedicated to the **development, documentation, and open access of SASL HLT** for research, education, and public use. We aim to correct the hearing-centric bias in existing HLT systems by supporting **Deaf-led and inclusive design**. Our work supports community-anchored applications, including the *Lebitso App*, and aligns with principles of linguistic equality and technological equity. --- ## 📁 Repository Structure ```plaintext /data → Annotated and synthetic datasets for SASL HLT ├── meshes/ → STL files of SASL fingerspelling meshes, organized by letter (e.g., Aa/, Bb/) │ └── metadata.json → Mesh metadata (e.g., variations, creation method) ├── synthetic_data_resources/ → Synthetic video datasets of painted 3D-printed hands, organized by letter and lot (e.g., Aa/FS_AaRM250607#1/) │ └── metadata.json → Lot-specific metadata (e.g., lot number, hand details) ├── annotations/ → Sign metadata in CSV format (e.g., asl_sasl.csv) └── README.md → Detailed data folder documentation /images → Visuals, avatars, interface assets /code → Python scripts for processing, modelling, and tool development /notebooks → Jupyter notebooks for analysis and experimentation /docs → Licensing, ethical frameworks, project vision /streamlit …