Real Time Malayalam Speech to MSL-Malayalam Sign Language Interpreter: A Step Towards Inclusive Communication

Although prior research on Malayalam Sign Language (MSL) have predominantly concentrated on sign-to-text conversion, the establishment of a robust two-way communication system is yet insufficiently developed. This study proposes a speech-to-sign language translation framework to enhance communication between the deaf and hard-of-hearing community and the general public in Kerala. To support the system, a customized MSL dataset has been created, focusing on the recognition of finger-spelled letters and the conversion of spoken Malayalam inputs, such as complex characters, vowels, and consonants, into their corresponding MSL symbols. The proposed approach represents a significant breakthrough in inclusive communication technologies and enhances accessibility to regional languages. Additionally, by providing a foundation for extending similar solutions to other Indian sign languages, the framework advances larger efforts in assistive technology research.