Tag: British Sign Language

Forza Horizon 5 introduces sign language support throughout in-game scenes

Stuart Mitchell

Even though Cameron Akitt grew up hard of hearing, for him British Sign Language is a second language. English is his first. An avid gamer, subtitles supplement what he hears, correcting things he may have misheard or missed because of too much background noise. But he has friends who are deaf, for whom reading captions can cause fatigue. “For them, it’s a really tiring experience, not being able to access your first language,” says Akitt, a London-based teacher of the deaf and accessibility consultant. “We should be able to access…

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Deaf teen, who inspired over 80,000 Brits to learn sign language in lockdown, is back – in animated form!

Stuart Mitchell

A Deaf teen who inspired over 80 thousand people to start learning British Sign Language during the UK’s first lockdown, has become the animated star of a new product aimed at raising money for charity and getting more people using BSL. Tyrese Dibba, from Birmingham, made the headlines in 2020, then aged 15, when he teamed up with the disability charity Sense, to launch free online BSL classes to the public during the UK’s first lockdown. Deaf and partially sighted, Tyrese plays the role of ‘Mr Tyrese’ when he is…

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British Airways Becomes The First UK Airline To Trial New Technology To Transform The Customer Experience For Travellers Using British Sign Language

Stuart Mitchell

British Airways has become the first UK airline to trial a new video service transforming the experience for customers that use British Sign Language (BSL). The initiative is being trialled as part of the airline’s continued efforts to make travel simple and easy for customers with additional assistance needs. The airline’s new partnership with SignLive will see the company’s BSL service embedded in British Airways’ customer engagement centres. The platform allows customers to access a range of services before, during and after their journeys in a modern, simple and easy…

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First digital billboards to feature British Sign Language unveiled in UK train stations

Stuart Mitchell

The first-ever national digital billboard campaign to feature British Sign Language (BSL) has been launched across the UK by Microsoft to highlight the importance of accessibility in driving innovation. The campaign has been launched at major railway stations, including Reading, Brighton, Waterloo, Birmingham New Street, Manchester Piccadilly, Liverpool Lime Street, Leeds and Edinburgh Waverley. Each digital billboard will show 10-second films featuring a female BSL interpreter who is signing the words next to her. The message reads: “The more inclusive you are, the more innovative you can be. Together we…

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Lloyds Bank launches pioneering British Sign Language online translation tool

Stuart Mitchell

Lloyds Bank is the first UK organisation to offer pop up sign language videos to translate online text. The new service will provide easier access to essential financial information to break down some of the language barriers faced by Deaf customers. BSL is the first language for many Deaf people with its own grammar and syntax which means that written material is often not accessible. It is hoped that providing the online BSL videos will open up access to banking for deaf people and those with hearing impairments, giving them…

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