Designing a Data Model for a Diachronic Sign Language Database: A Case Study of Nineteenth-Century Bohemian Sources

Okrouhlíková, Lenka

Volume:: Proceedings of the LREC2026 12th Workshop on the Representation and Processing of Sign Languages: Language in Motion
Venue:: Palma, Mallorca, Spain
Date:: 16 May 2026
Pages:: 387–397
Publisher:: European Language Resources Association (ELRA)
Licence:: CC BY-NC 4.0
sign-lang ID:: 26017
ISBN:: 978-2-493814-82-1

Abstract

Diachronic research on sign languages is limited by the fragmentary and heterogeneous nature of historical documentation. Eighteenth- and nineteenth-century printed texts and manuscripts contain valuable lexical data, but their descriptions vary in precision, terminology, and representational conventions. This paper proposes a structured data model for a diachronic sign language database designed to systematise such archival materials. The proposed model adopts a multi-layered architecture that separates primary evidence from analytical interpretation, distinguishes attested from inferred sign parameters, applies graded confidence levels, and encodes structural, iconic, and metaphorical properties in parallel layers. Detailed source metadata ensures traceability and explicit representation of uncertainty. The model is illustrated through sign attestations drawn from nineteenth century Bohemian sources. The case study demonstrates that even fragmentary records, most commonly documented in dictionaries and pedagogical materials through written descriptions or illustrations, can be systematically represented within a unified data model suitable for structured comparison and diachronic analysis. The proposed model may also provide a methodological basis for comparable work on other European sign languages.

Document Download

Paper PDF BibTeX File + Abstract

Cite as

Citation in ACL Citation Format

Lenka Okrouhlíková. 2026. Designing a Data Model for a Diachronic Sign Language Database: A Case Study of Nineteenth-Century Bohemian Sources. In Proceedings of the LREC2026 12th Workshop on the Representation and Processing of Sign Languages: Language in Motion, pages 387–397, Palma, Mallorca, Spain. European Language Resources Association (ELRA).

BibTeX Export

@inproceedings{okrouhlikova:26017:sign-lang:lrec,
  author    = {Okrouhl{\'i}kov{\'a}, Lenka},
  title     = {Designing a Data Model for a Diachronic Sign Language Database: A Case Study of Nineteenth-Century Bohemian Sources},
  pages     = {387--397},
  editor    = {Efthimiou, Eleni and Fotinea, Stavroula-Evita and Hanke, Thomas and Hochgesang, Julie A. and Mesch, Johanna and Schulder, Marc},
  booktitle = {Proceedings of the {LREC2026} 12th Workshop on the Representation and Processing of Sign Languages: Language in Motion},
  maintitle = {15th International Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation ({LREC} 2026)},
  publisher = {{European Language Resources Association (ELRA)}},
  address   = {Palma, Mallorca, Spain},
  day       = {16},
  month     = may,
  year      = {2026},
  isbn      = {978-2-493814-82-1},
  language  = {english},
  url       = {https://www.sign-lang.uni-hamburg.de/lrec/pub/26017.html}
}