SignAlphabet data sources
What is bundled
| File | len(json) | Contents |
|---|---|---|
assets/alphabets.json | 1 alphabet, 26 letters | American Manual Alphabet (ASL fingerspelling) |
assets/words.json | 412 words | Common English words for the Spell screen |
assets/signs/*.png | 26 pictures | One public-domain picture per letter |
None of the pictures or descriptions were generated by AI image tools. No signer, Deaf organisation or fingerspelling teacher has reviewed this app. See "Limits".
Pictures
Query: Wikimedia Commons API, action=query&prop=imageinfo&iiprop=url|extmetadata|size|sha1|mime|user, for the 26 files "Sign language A.svg" to "Sign language Z.svg", on 2026-11-03. Each download was compared with the SHA-1 Commons reports. The build stops if a hash differs or a licence is not public domain.
Commons states the origin as http://www.wpclipart.com/sign_language/American_ABCs/index.html, and each SVG carries the metadata "edited by Paul Sherman", rights "PD". Commons files them in the category "ASL letters".
| Letter | Commons file | Licence on Commons | Author on Commons | SHA-1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Sign language A.svg | Public domain | wpclipart.com | 8249e290345b5228d1fcc62b21abb93b7046319e |
| B | Sign language B.svg | Public domain | wpclipart.com | 9d7b83ba25076a826ac9cc1a373f4d724c0b2776 |
| C | Sign language C.svg | Public domain | wpclipart.com | e2110980ac6e0ea794fb891fad0089059eebda32 |
| D | Sign language D.svg | Public domain | wpclipart.com | 96ea37099b8f7eab407482ed23ab3c3eb06f3804 |
| E | Sign language E.svg | Public domain | wpclipart.com | cddef595ef433cd51f7cb114bb594dcbda40f8f0 |
| F | Sign language F.svg | Public domain | wpclipart.com | f6262964f9a36487e13c74c834a153b71a4a7e2b |
| G | Sign language G.svg | Public domain | wpclipart.com | 85afdf76d0489905481eaa0560a433875511a1c8 |
| H | Sign language H.svg | Public domain | wpclipart.com | 62bfcd24da4cdecc39cf2eceb468a3175a4f2fc1 |
| I | Sign language I.svg | Public domain | wpclipart.com | 3d1885c4025058ff33c2abbad1a597f0cfc7b0e0 |
| J | Sign language J.svg | Public domain | wpclipart.com | 95f305c56dcc8bca7ffd115c49dd7caba7e3b12c |
| K | Sign language K.svg | Public domain | wpclipart.com | bdf8435f5e60323ed84f88d16791da4952f6ad98 |
| L | Sign language L.svg | Public domain | wpclipart.com | 12337306646807610b46c20396843510fb29d4d2 |
| M | Sign language M.svg | Public domain | wpclipart.com | 7297eee4410bfc6d4c1cde0d7e157314b7bcc0b1 |
| N | Sign language N.svg | Public domain | wpclipart.com | adb0f24a8e5b98780039ffc70c580a667093eafa |
| O | Sign language O.svg | Public domain | wpclipart.com | 20a72b183c5762841d2e61e2ce0020b3f01d2ef7 |
| P | Sign language P.svg | Public domain | wpclipart.com | e4bf0d913da4b9ca84026b5478e5bd368e012c6c |
| Q | Sign language Q.svg | Public domain | wpclipart.com | 03db4cb43d69944710b1402812f8cc1e841bd369 |
| R | Sign language R.svg | Public domain | wpclipart.com | 7781036cf84e43da809c6c69afae0e2bb6678c25 |
| S | Sign language S.svg | Public domain | wpclipart.com | c5f367f6ae6b4d97747a06a593bad83f8f4b90c7 |
| T | Sign language T.svg | Public domain | wpclipart.com | c6ff2001ce6e820049b1e77eafcc56d58cbe6627 |
| U | Sign language U.svg | Public domain | wpclipart.com | c204e7ac6b8565bb9f41efb8b29276b9d6859d1c |
| V | Sign language V.svg | Public domain | wpclipart.com | a945916e7f6866bcbafb193063cac4e9fcc3c477 |
| W | Sign language W.svg | Public domain | wpclipart.com | 427059e6e107af27dbecb2f5944af4927cfb369c |
| X | Sign language X.svg | Public domain | wpclipart.com | d39ca5d6e186ee4fd0b260cea4076868d7852214 |
| Y | Sign language Y.svg | Public domain | wpclipart.com | 6c6fd90ded8a7ee487d8c973435b8f092424ab7e |
| Z | Sign language Z.svg | Public domain | wpclipart.com | fc41b6460e615fa235e67ff18d9afed5c80979bb |
Licence result: each of the 26 is marked public domain on Commons (template PD-author, "released into the public domain by its author", no attribution required). Credit is given anyway.
One thing for the publisher to know. WPClipart's own terms (2016 archive; the live site did not respond on 2026-11-03) confirm public domain, personal and commercial use and modification, and add a request that people should not repost the collection online as a mirror of the site. This app uses 26 pictures out of that collection inside an app, which is not a mirror, and the website shows them only inside device screenshots. It is a request rather than a licence condition, and this is not legal advice.
What was changed. Each SVG was rendered with cairosvg to at most 720 px on the long side, cropped to its ink with a small margin, and saved as black ink on a transparent background. The drawings were not edited. The app always places them on a light card, so they read the same in dark mode.
Handshape descriptions
Written for this project in its own words. Nothing was copied from a source. Each was checked against the source below and then against the picture, opening each picture at a readable size.
| Short name | Source | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| Helen Keller Services | ASL Handshapes Described (archived 2024-05-25). Handshapes described in words for right-hand-dominant learners | A to I except J, K to O, R to T, V, X, Y; also the 6 shape for W and H shape for U |
| Wikipedia | American manual alphabet, read 2026-11-03 | J and Z movement; K/P, G/Q and H/U sharing a handshape; A against S |
| Lifeprint | W: the ASL letter W and fingerspelling notes, ASL University, Dr. William Vicars | W; that everyday forms of E, M and other letters vary from the chart form |
The Helen Keller page could not be fetched directly by script (HTTP 403), so the archived copy was read.
Letter by letter
| Letter | Source | What the source says, paraphrased | Against the picture |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Helen Keller Services | Fist; thumb closed against the side of the index finger. | Agrees |
| B | Helen Keller Services | Fingers together in a flat plane; thumb tucked against the palm. | Agrees |
| C | Helen Keller Services | Fingers together and curved; thumb opposed and curved into a C with the index finger. | Agrees |
| D | Helen Keller Services | Index extended; middle fingertip touches thumb tip; the others partly bent. | Agrees |
| E | Helen Keller Services | Fingers bent and hooked; thumb fully closed, its length touching the fingernails. | Agrees |
| F | Helen Keller Services | Listed as the "9", also known as the ASL F handshape: thumb and index tips form a loop, others extended and spread. | Agrees. The picture is turned, so the loop is seen almost edge-on. In practice it is a clear round loop. |
| G | Helen Keller Services | Index extended from the base joint; thumb parallel to it; other three fingers curled into the palm. | Agrees. Drawn from the side, as you see your own right hand. The fingers point forward, away from you, when you sign it. |
| H | Helen Keller Services | Index and middle extended together; others and thumb curled into a fist. | Agrees. Drawn from the side, as you see your own right hand. The fingers point forward, away from you, when you sign it. |
| I | Helen Keller Services | Little finger extended; others closed against the palm; thumb closed against the index finger. | Agrees |
| J | Wikipedia | J is I with a twist of the wrist, the little finger tracing the printed letter as seen by a right-handed signer. | Agrees This letter moves. The picture shows the path as someone facing you sees it, so its arrow hooks to the right. From where you stand, the hook goes to your left. |
| K | Helen Keller Services | Index extended; middle finger bent at the base, at an angle to the index; thumb against the middle finger; others curled. | Agrees. From the front, as pictured, the two fingers look like a V. The thumb against the middle finger is what sets K apart from V. |
| L | Helen Keller Services | Index extended; others curled into the palm; thumb extended outward, flat with the palm. | Agrees |
| M | Helen Keller Services | Fist with the thumb under index, middle and ring; tip protrudes between ring and little fingers. | Agrees. The thumb tip is small in this picture. It shows low down beside the little finger. Three fingers cover the thumb. |
| N | Helen Keller Services | Fist with the thumb under index and middle; tip protrudes between middle and ring fingers. | Agrees. The thumb tip is small in this picture. It shows low down in the middle of the fist. Two fingers cover the thumb. |
| O | Helen Keller Services | Fingers together and curled; thumb tip touches index and middle tips to form a circle. | Agrees |
| P | Wikipedia | K and P share a handshape with the thumb on the middle finger, and differ by orientation. | Agrees |
| Q | Wikipedia | G and Q share a handshape and differ by orientation. | Agrees |
| R | Helen Keller Services | Index and middle extended and crossed, middle behind index; others and thumb curled into a fist. | Agrees |
| S | Helen Keller Services | Fist; thumb opposed, restraining the back of the index and middle fingers. Wikipedia: thumb in front for S, on the side for A. | Agrees |
| T | Helen Keller Services | Fist with the thumb under the index finger; tip protrudes between index and middle fingers. | Agrees |
| U | Wikipedia | H and U share a handshape and differ by orientation; HKS gives the H shape: index and middle extended together, others and thumb in a fist. | Agrees |
| V | Helen Keller Services | Index and middle extended and spread; others and thumb curled into a fist. | Agrees |
| W | Lifeprint (ASL University) | Little finger on top of the thumb, close to the citation form of the number 6. HKS describes the 6 the same way: little finger closed, thumb restraining its nail, others extended and spread. | Agrees |
| X | Helen Keller Services | Index bent at the middle and end joints; others and thumb curled into a fist. | Agrees. Drawn from the side, so the hook stands out against the fist. |
| Y | Helen Keller Services | Thumb and little finger extended wide; others closed against the palm. | Agrees |
| Z | Wikipedia | Z is an index finger tracing the zigzag of the letter, as seen by a right-handed signer. | Agrees This letter moves. The arrow shows the Z as you see it yourself while drawing it. Someone facing you sees it reversed. |
Where the picture alone could mislead, and the fix
No picture showed the wrong handshape, as far as one non-signer comparing it with the sources can tell. Four kinds of difference between picture and description were found. Each is fixed with a note shown next to the picture, and the drawings are unchanged.
- J and Z use opposite points of view. The J arrow hooks to the right, which is how someone facing you sees it. A learner copying it as drawn would hook the wrong way. The Z arrow reads as a normal Z, which is how the signer sees it. Wikipedia states that both are traced as the signer sees them. J and Z each carry a motion note saying which view is drawn.
- G and H are drawn from the signer's side and point sideways, while most others are drawn as seen from the front. In use the fingers point forward. Both carry a note, based on Wikipedia.
- K and F are hard to read from the angle drawn. K's angled middle finger looks like a V from the front; F's loop is seen edge-on. Both carry a note.
- M and N show the thumb tip only faintly. The tip sits low in the drawing, so the exact gap the sources name is hard to see. Both carry a note that counts the fingers covering the thumb.
Where the sources are not the whole story
- Chart forms are citation forms. Lifeprint documents that E and M, among others, vary in everyday signing.
- The E here matches Helen Keller Services and the picture. Wikipedia reports generational variation.
- W follows the picture and Lifeprint. Everyday W and the number 6 often look alike.
Words
tools/words.txt was written for this project. It is a plain list of everyday words with no third-party source, so there is no licence to carry. The build checks each word against /usr/share/dict/words and that every letter of the alphabet occurs in at least one word.
Limits
- Not reviewed by any signer. Chart pictures and written text cannot show the rhythm, position and flow of real fingerspelling.
- Fingerspelling is only a small part of American Sign Language, which is a full language with its own grammar.
- Not a certified course, and not endorsed by any Deaf organisation.