Spanish Sign Language and Classification of Numbers: Analysis and Proposal of Neologisms

ABSTRACT: Deaf people who use Spanish Sign Language (LSE) in their academic stage need the support of an LSE Interpreter who facilitates their access to the curricular content. In this sense, in order to facilitate the work of professional interpreters, lexicographic materials of the LSE acquire a special importance. The quality of the dictionaries of a language has repercussions on the quality of interpretations and translations. The objective of this research is to determine if the LSE dictionaries collect lexical units (Signs) of quality for the concepts or names of the different types of numbers. To achieve that, we have searched, analyzed and, if necessary, created Signs that meet the basic characteristics of the languages of visual-gestural modality. On the one hand, the results of our investigation allow us to assure that the lexicographical materials of the LSE present terminological deficiencies; on the other hand, in those cases where a Sign option is found for the searched word, it is common to find Signs that do not convey the meaning of the concept in question. In spite of this, LSE, like all Sign Languages, presents resources and methods to create new Signs, showing that it is a rich language, capable of transmitting any type of information.