Sign language is a language that uses gestures to communicate with people who are hard of hearing. On many occasions, you may have seen the use of this language in the street or on television (official speeches, for example), and you may have been curious to learn it. That is why we have found a website that is specifically dedicated to giving visibility to this language and making it possible for everyone to learn it: Spread The Sign.
This non-profit site was created on the initiative of the European Sign Language Centre. It lists the sign language transcription of words and phrases in more than 40 languages. This site brings together more than 400 characters.
Spread The Sign: A Multilingual Dictionary of Sign Language
This completely free site is presented as an international dictionary allowing you to view the transcription of a word in sign language. The site offers the possibility of consulting this word in the different sign languages available on the site.
When you arrive at the site, you can select the site language and therefore default translations by clicking on the small flag at the top right. The site offers around forty languages or variants including French, English, American, Spanish (from different countries), German, Arabic…
You can then perform a search by entering a word in the “Search” field and clicking the blue button.
The search will take you to a dedicated page where you will be able to visualize the word using a short video. It is also possible to adjust the speed of the video to better understand the sign.
Below the video, you will be able to select the desired language for the searched word (by default the one you chose above). But this also allows you to compare different sign languages. Moreover, SpreadTheSign also allows you to compare two sign languages side by side!
Finally, on the sheet, you will find words associated with the word you searched for as well as sentences in which your word is used.
Learn sign language on Spread The Sign
If you don't know where to start and want to get started or learn sign language more seriously, the site has two fairly practical tools.
First, you can learn the manual alphabet. One section of the site includes videos of the 26 letters of the alphabet… This might be a good idea to get you started!
Then, the “Categories” section groups the words by theme and therefore allows you to focus on a specific subject or one that interests you in particular.
In short, Spread The Sign is a very nice tool to allow most of us to discover sign language and eventually learn it! Don't hesitate to get started, it's a very nice experience!
Article updated on January 4, 2025 by Byothe
