Observed on September 23, International Sign Languages Day highlights the importance of recognizing and promoting these languages. At the Portuguese Catholic University, this commitment takes shape through the development of the Contemporary Dictionary of Portuguese Sign Language (DCLGP).

Portuguese Sign Language (LGP) is a natural language with its own structures, used by the Portuguese Deaf community. Understanding and documenting its vocabulary therefore requires more than simply associating signs with written Portuguese words. It is necessary to observe how signs are produced, how they vary, and how they are used in context.

This is the starting point for the DCLGP. With over 2,000 annotated entries, this dictionary features a unique search engine that allows users to search for a gesture by text, by topic, or by its parameters: Configuration, Location, Orientation, Movement, and Facial Expression. It is a resource designed for bilingual LGP-Portuguese learning in elementary school.

For each gesture, the dictionary aims to compile linguistic information, variants, and examples of use in LGP. In this way, it can support the work of teachers, interpreters, and researchers, as well as language learning by deaf children, families, and other interested individuals.

DCLGP is the result of a partnership between the Universidade Católica Portuguesa—through its Faculty of Health Sciences and Nursing and NICE_Lab/CIIS—and the Instituto Superior Técnico—through its Interactive Technologies Institute (ITI/LARSyS) and IST-ID. The team at the Universidade Católica is developing the dictionary’s linguistic and recording components under the coordination of Paulo Carvalho, while the technology team at the Instituto Superior Técnico, which includes researcher Hugo Nicolau, is working on its digital platform and search engine.

On this International Day of Sign Languages, the DCLGP highlights the importance of creating resources that are rooted in LGP itself and value the knowledge of its users. Documenting a language also expands the possibilities for studying, teaching, and passing it on to future generations.