Gloss

A form of transliteration used in sign language research where written words from a spoken language (typically the dominant spoken language of the region, such as English) are used as labels to represent individual signs. Glosses are written in capital letters by convention (e.g., BOOK, HAPPY, WALK) and serve as a bridge between sign language and text-based annotation systems. However, glosses are not translations — they are approximate labels that lose significant information about the sign's production, including spatial grammar, facial expressions, and simultaneous multi-channel information. Over-reliance on gloss-based representations in sign language AI can introduce bias by filtering sign language through the lens of spoken language grammar, potentially flattening the linguistic richness of sign languages. Sign language researchers increasingly advocate for approaches that go beyond gloss-based methods.