İŞARET DİLİ SÖZLÜK TİPOLOJİLERİ VE TÜRK İŞARET DİLİ SÖZLÜKLERİ ÜZERİNE BETİMLEYİCİ BİR ÇALIŞMA

Abstract

This thesis aims to examine dictionaries of Turkish Sign Language (TİD) from typological, methodological, and functional perspectives by addressing sign language lexicography in both its theoretical and applied dimensions. Sign languages are natural languages that differ fundamentally from spoken languages due to their visual–gestural modality and multilayered grammatical structures. Despite this, lexicographic studies on sign languages have long remained limited, particularly in methodological terms. By adopting a holistic approach to sign language lexicography, this study seeks to fill this gap in the field. The thesis first addresses the grammatical properties of sign languages, the Deaf community, and the historical and sociocultural development of TİD in order to provide a foundation for understanding lexicographic principles. It then discusses the historical development of sign language dictionaries worldwide, different dictionary types, and the fundamental principles of sign language lexicography. Corpus-based approaches, lemmatization, headword selection, ordering strategies, various modes of sign representation, and user-oriented search functionalities are examined in detail. In addition, the study investigates how sign-languagespecific linguistic features—such as iconicity and mouthing—are represented in dictionaries. In the applied section of the thesis, printed and online TİD dictionaries produced in Türkiye are evaluated in light of the international literature on sign language lexicography. The current TİD Dictionary, dictionaries prepared by the Turkish Language Association and the Ministry of National Education, individual initiatives, and terminological dictionaries are comparatively analyzed. These evaluations focus on data collection methods, representation techniques, the degree of standardization, and the extent to which the dictionaries meet user needs. From these perspectives, the thesis presents a comprehensive overview of the current state of TİD dictionaries and proposes a more consistent, corpus-based, and user-centered lexicographic framework for future sign language dictionaries. The study aims to contribute to sign language lexicography by offering both theoretical insights and practical recommendations.