British Sign Language Glossaries of Curriculum Terms

Teams of BSL linguists and subject specialists have created this resource by gathering any existing terms and creating new terms in BSL for those that do not. The glossary terms are supported by signed definitions, lab experiments and examples.

The British Sign Language Glossaries of Curriculum Terms project was established in 2007 and continues to develop new subject-specific glossaries. Individual glossaries have been published since 2008.

Winner of "Data for Good Initiative of the Year" 2023 Award (British Data Awards)

A to Z & Search

Subjects

Astronomy

Deepsky, Solar system, stars ...

Biology

Plants, animals, ecosystems

Chemistry

Acids/alkalis, chemical reactions

Subjects

Computing Science

Software, Systems, Databases

Cyber Security

Cyber Attacks, Protection ...

Data Science

Statistics, Visualisation, ...

Environmental Science

Ecosystems, Pollution ...

Geography

Geology, Rivers, Maps, Weather

Marine Species

Sea Animals, Plants ...

Mathematics

Algebra, Calculus, Geometry

Physics

Energy, Light, Electricity

Above and Below - Animals in BSL

Inspired by the book for younger children about animals and where they live. Features nearly 100 animals from a variety of habitats: North Pole, Ocean, Savannah, Mountain Caves, Rainforest, Clifftops, River, and Forests.

We commissioned deaf wildlife specialist, John Denerley, to record BSL signs for these animals. Features illustrations from the book by Patricia Hegarty and illustrated by Hanako Clulow with kind permission from Caterpillar Books.

Above and Below

Words in Hand

Preserving BSL Heritage

We have digitised our historic collection of recordings from the Edinburgh BSL Research Project in the 1980s focusing on deaf heritage and BSL teaching and research carried out at Moray House. It is a treasure trove of Storytelling, Jokes and Teaching notes which can still help those learning BSL.

Words in Hand

BSL Resources

BSL Glossary Website

How to cite the BSL Glossary

For citations in academic work, Harvard style example:

Scottish Sensory Centre, University of Edinburgh (2008–present) British Sign Language Glossaries of Curriculum Terms. Available at: https://www.ssc.education.ed.ac.uk/BSL/index.html (Accessed: Date).

For a specific glossary, example, Biology:

Scottish Sensory Centre, University of Edinburgh. (2024) 'BSL Biology Glossary' In British Sign Language glossaries of curriculum terms. Available at: https://www.ssc.education.ed.ac.uk/BSL/biologyhome.html (Accessed: Date).

Acknowledgements

The BSL Glossary would not exist without our funders which are acknowledged on each main topic home page. We would like to also thank Deaf Scots Trust and BATOD for funding to help maintain the technology behind the Glossary.


Search the Glossary for terms