Lesotho Sign Language Recognition and Translation using Convolutional Neural Networks

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6463-906-3_15How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Sign Language Recognition; Sign Language Translation; Lesotho Sign Language; Convolutional Neural Networks

Abstract

Lesotho Sign Language (LSL) remains an underrepresented language with less than 4500 speakers, unavailable datasets and limited assistive technologies. This study presents the development of an LSL dataset comprising gesture-based images of alphabet letters A-Y, collected and annotated in collaboration with the National Association of the Deaf Lesotho. A Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) based model was developed for the Sign Language Translation (SLT) task. Then, a hierarchical data format version 5 (HDF5) version of the trained model was used to translate hand gestures to text and audio for the Sign Language Recognition (SLR) task. The model achieved 92.61% accuracy in the SLR task, and promising results in the SLT task for letters N, C, H, O and D. This work provides a foundational framework for empowering the speech and hearing-impaired community in Lesotho in communicating and accessing crucial services like healthcare and education through assistive technologies. Future research could explore the integration of motion-aware architectures and Contrast Limited Adaptive Histogram Equalisation (CLAHE) preprocessing to enhance model performance under varying lighting conditions and to better handle sign variations across the community.

Copyright

© 2025 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - William Nkomo
AU  - Refuoe Mokhosi
AU  - John Batani
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/12/12
TI  - Lesotho Sign Language Recognition and Translation using Convolutional Neural Networks
BT  - Proceedings of Botho University International Research Conference (BUIRC 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 270
EP  - 283
SN  - 3005-155X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-906-3_15
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6463-906-3_15
ID  - Nkomo2025
ER  -