Instructions for how to use the dictionary
This section briefly guides the reader on use of the dictionary and provides advice on how to understand symbols and other information as illustrated in this dictionary. Generally, signs are grouped into themes based on their needs within basic conversations, and their semantic fields. Each page is divided into three articles, and each article corresponds to a sign. Furthermore, each article has its own unique number and includes a photo of the sign, figures of the internal structure of the sign, and its translations. A sign accompanied with a symbol video (see Figure 1) refers to the video demonstrating the sign, including the single sign itself, as well as the sign within both simple and more complex sentences. Videos can be watched using the offline website on the memory stick. Finger spellings and numerals are listed at the end of the vocabulary, followed by the pages showing the index of signs.
Figure 1: Videos are found on the memory stick
In each article, the photo realistically shows the way that the sign is produced. A sign may be shown either as a single photo or as a set of several photos, in order to describe how hands move and how the sign changes step by step. Moreover, arrows shown in the photo of the sign describe the movements in detail. There is a list of arrows and explanations for their meanings on the next page.
Figures schematically describe the internal structure of a sign. In this dictionary, the internal structure of each sign is described in terms of three main parameters: handshape, place of articulation, and movement. See examples in Figure 2. The handshape parameter refers to the way a hand is formed, such as a flat palm or a fist. The place of articulation parameter describes how signs are produced at various places around the body, such as the head, chest, hand(s), and in “neutral space” in front of the signer. As for the movement parameter, hands can move along different paths and in various manners. For example, hands may open or close, and arms may bounce or move along a circular path. Moreover, a symbol with the word variation refers to the formational variation of at least one of the parameters of a sign. For example, the sign GOOD (article 65) can be produced with either one or two hands (see “Handedness” in Figure 2).
Flat palm
Neutral space
Axial rotation of arm
One hand
Figure 2: examples of parameters
A word in English and Chichewa shown in an article about a sign is a translation with the meaning being roughly equivalent to the meaning of the sign. Some signs have multiple translations, demonstrating that the signs may have multiple meanings.
There are at least two ways to search for signs in this dictionary. You can select a certain theme and browse for signs within the theme. For example, you can find the colour signs by browsing pages under the theme ‘colours’. The second way to browse is by using the index of words for signs at the end of the dictionary. You can search for a certain English or Chichewa word making use of the index’s alphabetical order and checking the page number. Also, the number of the article can be used to indicate a particular sign.
 | the path made by the hand or part of a hand (sometimes by the head or body) |  | repeated, bidirectional movement |
 | normal movement |  | bidirectional movement, the movement starts in the direction of the double arrowhead |
 | hand closes (= the extended fingers close, the resulting handshape may be: fingertips contacting the thumb, loose fist or fist) |  | the tip of a finger rubs once against the thumb |
 | thumb and one finger close or two parallel fingers come together |  | the tip of a finger rubs repeatedly against the thumb |
 | hand opens (compare with "hand closes") |  | forearm rotation, the arrow shows the direction of the rotation |
 | thumb and one finger open or two parallel fingers separate |  | when used around a wrist indicates forearm rotation |
 | repeated movement (usually the movement is repeated once, but this symbol is also used if the movement is repeated twice) |  | movement ends in a clear stop |
 | the hands move together in the direction shown by the arrow |  | the hand or part of the hand does not move |
Most arrows and symbols for describing signs in the dictionary are from Finnish Association of the Deaf.