ASL-LEX is a searchable web database of lexical and phonological properties that have been complied for nearly 3,000 signs of American Sign Language.
The database contains:
- Frequency ratings
- Iconicity ratings
- Lexical properties
- Phonological coding
- Neighborhood density calculations
- English translation
- Alternative translations
- Reference video clip
This project is a collaboration between the Laboratory for Language and Cognitive Neuroscience at SDSU, the Psycholinguistics and Linguistics Lab at Tufts University and the Programs in Deaf Studies at Boston University.
Funding
This research is supported by the National Science Foundation BSC 1918556 to Dr. Karen Emmorey, Dr. Zed Sevcikova and San Diego State University and National Science Foundation BSC 1625954 to Dr. Karen Emmorey and San Diego State University.
Awards
Science can be hard to describe – concepts, theories, processes, and phenomena use up a lot of words—and even after careful consideration those words can fall short. That’s why for the last three years Popular Science has teamed up with the National Science Foundation to honor the best science visualizations with a Vizzie award.
ASL-LEX received the People’s Choice: Inactive VIZZIE award! More about the award on the National Science Foundation website.
Recent Publications
- Sevcikova Sehyr, Z., Goldberg, A., Emmorey, K., & Caselli, N. (2021). An interactive visual database for American Sign Language reveals how signs are organized in the mind. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/an-interactive-visual-database-for-american-sign-language-reveals-how-signs-are-organized-in-the-mind-156741
- Sevcikova Sehyr, Z., Caselli, N., Cohen-Goldberg, A.M., & Emmorey, K. (2021). The ASL-LEX 2.0 Project: A database of lexical and phonological properties for 2,723 signs in American Sign Language. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, enaa038, https://doi.org/10.1093/deafed/enaa038
- Sehyr, Z.S., & Emmorey, K. (2019). The perceived mapping between form and meaning in American Sign Language depends on linguistic knowledge and task: Evidence from iconicity and transparency judgments. Language and Cognition, 11(2), 208-234. doi:10.1017/langcog.2019.18
- Thompson, W., Perlman, M., Lupyan, G., Sehyr, Z.S., & Emmorey, K. (2020). A data-driven approach to the semantics of iconicity in American Sign Language and English. Language and Cognition, 12, 182-202. https://doi:10.1017/langcog.2019.52
- Caselli, N., Sevcikova Sehyr, Z., Cohen-Goldberg, A., & Emmorey, K. (2016). ASL-LEX: A lexical database of American Sign Language. Behavioral Research Methods. 1-18.
Recent Presentations
- Sevcikova Sehyr, Z., Edinger, R., & Emmorey, K. (2019). Quantifying the spatial and temporal propertieis of nouns and verbs in American Sign Language using Microsoft Kinect. Poster presented at the meeting of Sign Language Linguistics Society (TISLR13). September, Hamburg, Germany.
- Sevcikova Sehyr, Z. & Emmorey, K. (2019). Lexical factors that influence sign retrieval: A large-scale ASL picture naming study. Poster presented at the meeting of Sign Language Linguistics Society (TISLR13). September, Hamburg, Germany.
- Sevcikova Sehyr, Z., Caselli, N., Goldberg-Cohen, A., & Emmorey, K. (2016). ASL-LEX: A lexical database for American Sign Language. Theoretical Issues in Sign Language Research 12, January, Melbourne, Australia.
- Caselli, N., Sevcikova Sehyr, Z., Cohen-Goldberg, A., & Emmorey, K. (2016). An investigation of the American Sign Language lexicon. Paper presented at the 10th International Conference on the Mental Lexicon, October, Ottawa, Canada.