Glossary
Terms used in accessibility research and practice. Each entry has a definition, common aliases, and category tags.
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- Facial Expression
- The use of facial muscles to convey emotions, reactions, or linguistic meaning. In sign languages such as ASL, facial expressions serve a grammatical function far beyond conveying emotion — they mark questions (raised eyebrows for yes/no questions, furrowed brows for…
- Facial Expressions in Sign Language(also: Non-Manual Markers, Non-Manual Signals, NMMs)
- Meaningful facial movements and configurations that serve grammatical, lexical, and affective functions in sign languages. In American Sign Language, facial expressions are not merely emotional indicators but carry essential linguistic information including marking questions…
- Finger Braille(also: Tactile Finger Spelling)
- A communication method used primarily by deaf-blind people, in which a sender taps or presses on the fingers of the receiver to represent Braille dot patterns, simulating typing on a Braille typewriter. The receiver's six fingers (three on each hand) correspond to the six dots…
- Fingerspelling(also: Manual alphabet, Dactylology)
- A method of spelling out words letter by letter using hand shapes, used within sign languages to represent proper nouns, technical terms, or words that lack a dedicated sign. Each letter of the written alphabet corresponds to a specific hand configuration. Fingerspelling poses…
- Fingerspelling(also: Manual Alphabet, Dactylology)
- A method of spelling out words letter-by-letter using hand positions that represent each letter of the alphabet. In American Sign Language, fingerspelling uses a one-handed manual alphabet and is primarily used for proper names, technical terms, and words that do not have…
- Floor Holding(also: Holding the Floor, Turn Holding)
- The conversational practice of maintaining one's turn to speak, signaling to others that one has not finished and intends to continue. For AAC users, floor holding is particularly challenging because the time required to compose messages creates long pauses that communication…
- Formulaic Language(also: Formulaic Speech, Routine Language)
- Pre-established, conventionalised phrases and expressions that occur predictably in specific social or transactional contexts, such as greetings, service transactions, or ceremonial speech. In accessibility and communication technology, the formulaic nature of certain…
- Fringe Vocabulary(also: Fringe Words, Context-Specific Vocabulary)
- Topic-specific or situation-specific words in an AAC system, typically nouns and other content words that are needed in particular contexts but not used frequently across all conversations. Examples include words like "dinosaur" at a museum, "swing" at a playground, or…
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