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How to Use This Dictionary

DICTIO contains dictionaries of several languages. Covered dictionaries are listed in the dropdown menu. DICTIO provides searching for equivalents (translations) between any two covered languages and searching for entry details among each covered language.

It is possible to use words or signs as an input for search.

Spoken language as an input

  • Select the source (and target) languages.
  • Enter the whole word or its part into the searching field.
  • Select the part of speech you are searching for.
  • Click on the search icon .
  • You will get a list of results.
  • If you click on a single result, you will get more details about the entry.
  • Equivalents (translations) are listed within each meaning of the entry.

Sign language as an input

  • Select the source (and target) languages.
  • Use the virtual keyboard for entering part of signs.
  • You can enter a handshape(s) of the dominant hand, signing space and specify if you are searching for one- or two-hands signs. If you select dominant and non dominant hand identical handshape option, two-hands sign option will be added automatically. Default option is one-hand signs search.
  • If you want to specify more details, use SignWriting option (not available at the moment).
  • Select the part of speech you are searching for.
  • Click on the search icon .
  • You will get a list of results.
  • If you click on a single result, you will get more details about the entry.
  • Equivalents (translations) are listed within each meaning of the entry.

Virtual keyboard

The virtual keyboard is designed for entering parts of signs (of Sign Languages). It contains hanshapes and part of the signing space. Specifying one- or two-hand signs as well as identical handshapes of dominant and non dominant hand and both hands activeness is possible.

Hands options
One-hand sign option
Two-hands sign option
Identical handshapes (dominant and non dominant hand)
Both hands active option

Dictionary Entry Structure

Each entry contains of three parts:

  • Header
  • Formal section (grammar details etc.)
  • Semantic section
  • Collocations

Spoken language header contains lemma itself (1), unusual pronunciation in brackets (2) and another way of spelling if possible (3)

Sign Language header contains videos and notations since there is no firmly established conventional writing for sign languages. As a basic form showing the lemma itself is considered the frontal view video (1). It is accompanied by a side view as well (2). There is transcription in SignWriting (3). Transcription in HamNoSys (4) can be provided as well.

Since there are left and right-handed signer as well, information about signer headness is in the left top corner provided. (L: left-handed, R: right-handed) (5)

Formal Section

The formal section of a spoken language lemma can contains the following information:

  • Word origin (in case of loanwords),
  • Lexical category,
  • Possible variations (spelling, lexical category and morphology),
  • Morphological paradigm of flexible lexical categories (declension table),
  • Stylistic specifics (territorial, social or stylistic restrictions on use of the expression).

The formal section of a sign language can contains the following information:

  • Sign origin,
  • Lexical category,
  • Speech component – only for lexemes, where the speech component is compulsory in articulation; it is displayed in lowercase letters. Word parts in brackets are optional. If there are several possible variants of speech components, they are separated by a slash. E.g.: "term(ín)/datum",
  • Oral component – only indicated when compulsory,
  • Grammar or style variants,
  • Distribution area (geographical area where the lexeme is typicaly used, or typical group of users)

Semantic Section

This section covers the explanation of the meaning using examples, information about semantic relations and settled multi-word expressions containing the explained expression.

The explanation of a meaning (semantic definition) respects the usual form of dictionary definitions with minor modifications for sign language, which seek to preserve the naturalness of the discourse (e.g. the expression in the header and the expression that constitutes the core of the semantic explanation do not necessarily have to be of the same lexical category; repetition of the explained expression at the beginning of the definition is allowed).

In accordance with lexicographic tradition all meanings which relate to one form are indicated under one lemma. In the dictionary a distinction is made between homonymy (multiple lemmas) and polysemy (only one lemma); unclear cases are classified under one lemma. Moreover, the various interpretations of the meaning may be indicated by one of the semantic areas., which provides information about the context (scientific discipline or sector of human activity in general) in which the given expression in the mentioned meaning usually can occur. Such indication is taken over from the original sources in cases where also the original definition is taken over; for newly created lemmas (especially lemmas of a terminological nature), one of the semantic areas mentioned in the used sources is assigned (for more detailed information on sources see page "About"). Meanings indicated for specific areas follow after the general meanings (i.e. after meanings which do not belong to a specific area). A complete list of used semantic areas can be viewed here.

Examples of use are presented in the form of sentences. Their purpose is to demonstrate the grammatical (or stylistic) features and specific connotations of the lemma described. In some cases, this section focuses more on demonstrations of the use of the lemma in typical syntactic relations (e.g. with a number of typical verbs or prepositions), while sometimes it is more of a specification of the semantic definition. Examples are currently obtained from several sources: in the case of sign languages, they are developed in workgroups, i.e. they are created (checked or approved) on purpose by native users of national sign language; in case of spoken language, they are: a) traced in the corpus of existing texts (e.g. using the instrument Sketch Engine* for the Czech language) b) taken from the source dictionaries and reformulated into sentences in case no good examples are found in the corpus.

Further information in this field are the semantic relations to the units of the given language (synonyms, antonyms and to the units of the other language in the dictionary (semantic equivalents /also called translations/ and vice versa). Items in this section of the semantic part of the lemma may contain a reference to another separate lemma (if exists in target language dictionary), or have the form of plain text.

Collocations

The last item for the lemma are settled collocations containing the explained lemma. This section includes both short collocations (phrasemes, idioms, some analogies) and complete proverbs and sayings. The criterion for inclusion in the dictionary of multi-word units is their idiomatic character: the meaning of the collocation as a whole is not derivable only from the meaning of the individual words.

Categories of Lexical Units in Czech Sign Language

The first piece of information provided in the formal description of an entry in Czech Sign Language is the lexical category of the sign. As in any natural language, Czech Sign Language distinguishes groups of expressions that exhibit certain shared morphological, syntactic (distributional), and semantic characteristics. Across languages, these systematic similarities (and differences) are traditionally captured by classifying them into lexical categories known as parts of speech. Defining individual lexical categories based on a combination of morphological, syntactic, and semantic properties of lexical units is thus considered a sufficiently general tool for systematising the vocabulary of any natural language. In line with this tradition, each lexical unit in the dictionary is typically assigned one lexical category. Given the grammatical structure of sign languages in general and the degree of theoretical analysis of Czech Sign Language in particular, classification into lexical categories is not a straightforward process. Therefore, it is necessary to briefly comment on the approach we use and define the terms employed in the dictionary.

Our strategy is to apply insights from general linguistics on the one hand and the current research on Czech Sign Language on the other. We are open to applying traditional lexical categories where the material of Czech Sign Language allows for classification according to these categories. In other cases, we use terms from scholarly works on Czech Sign Language or those used in international literature. Given that a comprehensive theoretical description of the grammar of Czech Sign Language is still under development at relevant academic institutions, the classification we offer does not aim higher than at providing a starting point for further academic discussion.

The traditional parts of speech we use to describe the lexicon of Czech Sign Language are: noun, verb, pronoun, numeral, conjunction, and particle. From the scholarly works on Czech Sign Language, we also accept the category known as the "categorising expression." From the international tradition, we adopt the terms classifier, size and shape specifier, modifier, and wh-word, which we translate as "classifier," "shape and size specifier," "modifier," and "interrogative expression."

Below are the general criteria and typical grammatical features of individual categories. Exceptions to these are listed in the grammatical note of the lexeme to which they apply.

Criteria for Assigning Signs to Lexical Categories

1) Nouns

Signs classified as nouns meet the following criteria:

  • Semantic: Denote entities (person, animal, object...) or qualities, materials, etc.
  • Syntactic: a) They can be combined with basic numerals and other quantifiers; b) The addition of another noun is always interpreted coordinately.
  • Morphological: Reduplication of the sign, or incorporation of a numeral or reduplication of a proform, expresses plural. A supporting criterion is the occurrence of verbal components with nouns, in contrast to the presence of oral components with verbs.

Within nouns, two subcategories are distinguished: common and proper nouns. Common nouns denote groups of entities (classes of persons, objects, phenomena, etc.). Proper nouns, or name signs, refer to a specific entity, distinguishing it from others of the same kind and identifying it as unique within a given class.

2) Verbs

Signs are classified as verbs if they meet the following defined criteria:

  • Semantic criteria: They denote actions or states.
  • Syntactic criteria: They do not combine with basic numerals.

Morphological criteria:

  • Show various types of agreement (e.g., person, number, or location).
  • Aspectual modification is possible through non-manual means.
  • Reduplication is used to indicate aspect (or, in some cases, agreement with an object in terms of number).

Additionally, auxiliary indicators include the presence of oral components (in contrast to the verbal components seen in nouns) or the possibility of negation using non-manual means.

Types of Verbs

Based on further criteria, verbs are divided into the following four types:

  • Plain Verbs

    These are usually articulated on or near the body (e.g., RÁD [LIKE]). They do not take affixes for person, place, or number. Some may take aspectual affixes. The subject and object must be expressed lexically, typically using pronouns. The subject precedes the verb, and the object follows it.

  • Agreement Verbs

    These verbs take affixes for person, number, and aspect but not for location (e.g., VRÁTIT [RETURN]).

    Agreement verbs are further divided into four subtypes:

    • Subjective: Movement starts and ends to express the subject (e.g., VRÁTIT).
    • Objective: Movement start and end express the object and subject, respectively (e.g., POZVAT [INVITE]).
    • Restricted: These lack full agreement with all objects and subjects, often excluding agreement with the first person (e.g., UZNAT [ACKNOWLEDGE]).
    • Reciprocal: These express mutual actions between two subjects, with each hand corresponding to a subject (e.g., SEZNÁMIT [INTRODUCE]).
  • Spatial Verbs

    These take location affixes but not affixes for person, number, or aspect (e.g., PSÁT [WRITE]). They can indicate the movement of an object through space, specify a location, or describe a medium.

  • Classifier Verbs

    These incorporate handshapes (classifier forms) that agree with the object’s properties. Agreement is based on the object's shape, size, or other characteristics.

3) Pronouns

Pronouns include exclusively expressions with deictic or anaphoric functions. They can be further divided into demonstrative pronouns and possessive pronouns:

  • Demonstrative pronouns refer to a participant in the communication or an object within the communicative context (deictic use) or to a sign (anaphoric use) towards which an extended index finger is directed (e.g., I) or additional fingers for plural forms (e.g., we two).
  • Possessive pronouns indicate belonging to a participant in the communication or a sign towards which the speaker’s palm is directed (e.g., his).

4) Numerals

Numerals include expressions related to numbers and counting. Based on semantic and other criteria, they are categorized as basic, ordinal, multiplicative, iconic, and indefinite numerals:

  • Basic numerals specify a simple, definite number and are signed in neutral space.
  • Ordinal numerals express order and exhibit richer inflectional morphology, such as shifts in signing space or orientation changes.
  • Multiplicative numerals denote the frequency or repetition of actions, or the degree of a property exceeded in comparison.
  • Iconic numerals mimic the written numeral’s form through movement during signing, either partially or fully.
  • Indefinite numerals represent an indeterminate number.

5) Modifiers

Modifiers include signs that provide additional specification to entities or verbal actions. They are categorized into qualitative, spatial, temporal, and aspectual modifiers:

  • Qualitative modifiers express the qualities of entities or actions (e.g., beautiful). They differ from other groups in that they are typically gradable.
  • Temporal modifiers adjust the timing of the action in the statement and can act as a temporal framework (e.g., today). They differ by incorporating numerical morphemes, with potential reduplication indicating frequency rather than plurality.
  • Aspectual modifiers adjust the action in terms of its initiation, conclusion, progression, or absence of realization (e.g., already). These are exclusively associated with verbs.
  • Spatial modifiers are generally deictic expressions that indicate not only the location of an object in space but also, potentially, the trajectory of its movement (e.g., beside).

6) Conjunctions

Conjunctions include signs that express various logical relationships between two sentences or sentence elements.

7) Interrogative Expressions

Interrogative expressions correspond to the linguistic concept of wh-words. These are signs used to form content questions, eliciting specific information.

8) Categorization Expressions

The class of categorization expressions is defined by enumeration. From a semantic perspective, these are more or less grammaticalized expressions with the ability to organize hypernym-hyponym relationships among lexemes, specifically distinguishing the subordinate or superordinate level from the basic level.

9) Particles

Particles include expressions that convey the speaker's subjective attitude toward the statement, its immediacy, or the degree of certainty. Within this group, negative particles are a distinct type. They negate a sentence element or the entire sentence (e.g., AT ALL).

10) Classifiers

Classifiers include classifier handshapes and shape/size specifiers.

For classifier handshapes, we distinguish the following semantic types:

  • Object classifiers (e.g., FIGURE).
  • Body part classifiers (e.g., CLF-5o).
  • Handling classifiers (e.g., CLF-AS).
  • Contact classifiers (e.g., CLF-A1).
  • Shape and size specifiers provide more specific details about an object's form (e.g., a noun). They describe attributes such as thickness, width, or outline, including depth, thickness, width, contour, surface texture, or quantity of objects (e.g., SQUARE).

Basic word order in Czech Sign Language

The first position in a sentence is occupied by the so-called time frame, followed by the indication of place, then the subject and the object. The verb occupies the last position in the sentence.

Within the time frame, a more general term is placed first, followed by a more specific one. For example, "April 18" is expressed as APRIL 18, and "at eight in the morning" as MORNING EIGHT-O'CLOCK.

When expressing a place, the so-called spiral principle is used, proceeding from the general to the specific. For example, the information "in the square in Královo Pole in Brno" would be expressed as: CZECH REPUBLIC, BRNO, KRÁLOVO POLE, SQUARE.

When expressing the subject and object (generally within noun phrases), the noun is placed first, followed by its modifiers. The typical order of elements within noun phrases referring to people is as follows: a) noun, pronoun b) noun, modifier.

The typical order of elements within a complex object (or subject) is as follows: noun, modifier or specifier expressing property or shape, modifier expressing color. For example, "a nice black CRT television" would be expressed as: TELEVISION CRT BLACK NICE. Individual elements of the noun phrase can be omitted, but their order must be maintained. For example, "a small red car" is expressed as CAR SMALL RED, or "a nice table" as TABLE NICE, or "a square table" as TABLE SQUARE.

The verb depends on the subject (noun) with which it agrees. This agreement is reflected, for instance, in the corresponding classifier. When two verbs appear in sequence (typically a modal and a main verb), the modal verb comes first. For example, WANT SWIM. Verbs can be modified and intensified using non-manual components.