"Signs of Australia"

• approximately 4000 Auslan signs with instant access to a video movie for each sign, with slow motion and repeat viewing options
• signs presented by deaf native signers
• a written introduction to the background and history of Auslan
• brief introduction to aspects of Auslan grammar (in Auslan and English)
• instructions (in Auslan and English) on how to use the CD-ROM dictionary
• information on the phonological structure of each sign; the meaning of the sign (explained in COBUILD Dictionary style); sign class (nominal, verbal etc.); English words or phrases that can be used to translate each sign; grammatical information about the sign (directional verb etc.); the "lexicalisation" status of each sign (whether the sign is a highly standardised and widely used lexicalised sign, a regional lexicalised sign, a specialist lexicalised sign, an obsolete lexicalised sign, or a semi-lexicalised classifier sign); the state or region where the sign is used, including a map showing this distribution; information on folk etymology and source of sign (i.e., if the sign is a borrowing from ASL, BSL, IrishSL etc.)
• access to sign synonyms and antonyms
• the dictionary can be searched by English word, by topic area, or by a subset of phonological features (handshape + hand arrangement + location)
• an introduction to fingerspelling, both two-handed (Anglo-Australian manual alphabet) and one-handed (North American and Irish manual alphabets) with fingerspelling practice and quiz screens