Turkish scientists develop software for deaf people

ESKISEHIR, Turkey

Two Turkish scientists have developed a software that will significantly facilitate the deaf people’s access to knowledge.

The software developed by Ahmet Faruk Aslan and Ozer Celik, professors from Osmangazi University in the central Eskisehir province, will translate websites, PDF, and video content into sign language.

Work on the project started in 2016 when their funding application was accepted by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK). Establishing an IT company with the endowment they received, Aslan and Celik developed three different softwares within four years to improve the life quality of the deaf people.

Among them are video translation system which allows video subtitles to be translated into sign language while its versions for PDF and the internet translate the contents into sign language.

Talking to Anadolu Agency, Celik said Turkey’s deaf population is around 3.5 million. “This figure reaches 360 million across the world.”

Celik remarked that around half of the deaf people experience hardships in understanding what they read.

“The reason behind this is the fact that Turkish sign language and spoken Turkish language are different. Sign language has a different grammar and limited vocabulary. As such, deaf people face difficulty when they read words that do not exist in sign language,” Celik added.

He also said they are currently working on a new software that will transform sign language into written texts.

*Written by Ahmet Gencturk in Ankara