Synthesis of sign animation with facial expression and its effects on understanding of sign language

摘要

Japanese Sign Language (JSL) is spoken with head movements, eye movements, postures, facial expressions as well as hand gesture. The purpose of the present paper is to examine the effects of facial expression on understanding JSL sentences represented by animation. Rules for facial expression in sign animation synthesis were based on analysis of a JSL interpreter's non-manual gesture. Sign animation without facial expression and one with it were used for the experiment. The results show that there was a significant difference in the recognition rate between two animation. This fact means that facial expression helped the subjects understand the JSL words and sentences.