In 2023 24,587,983 searches were made on www.signbsl.com a +4.2% increase from last year indicating a growing interest in BSL which I expect to continue, especially with the plans to allow students to learn BSL as a GCSE subject. Below I have provided a snapshot of the top 50 most searched words.
| Search Query | No. Searches | % change from last year |
|---|---|---|
| how are you | 45,364 | -1% |
| i love you | 43,547 | 2% |
| want | 33,111 | 7% |
| with | 31,836 | 24% |
| how | 30,632 | 11% |
| thank you | 28,823 | 16% |
| more | 28,680 | 22% |
| what | 28,063 | 8% |
| happy | 27,450 | 9% |
| good morning | 27,415 | 2% |
| dictionary | 27,321 | 43% |
| no | 25,227 | 12% |
| like | 24,657 | 10% |
| when | 24,192 | 3% |
| why | 23,762 | 4% |
| hello | 23,434 | -1% |
| you're welcome | 23,089 | 21% |
| my name is | 22,542 | -8% |
| and | 21,812 | 15% |
| have | 21,683 | 11% |
| do | 21,555 | 18% |
| toilet | 21,353 | 11% |
| tired | 21,061 | 10% |
| love | 20,475 | 11% |
| where | 20,135 | 9% |
| sorry | 19,503 | 19% |
| today | 19,293 | 10% |
| go | 19,114 | 14% |
| please | 18,935 | 16% |
| school | 18,512 | 12% |
| water | 18,371 | 9% |
| dog | 18,286 | 16% |
| beautiful | 18,249 | 12% |
| can | 17,958 | 15% |
| help | 17,673 | 14% |
| i | 17,520 | 17% |
| sign | 17,374 | 32% |
| who | 17,309 | 10% |
| favourite | 17,140 | 22% |
| you | 17,025 | 15% |
| need | 16,937 | 13% |
| boy | 16,869 | 32% |
| yes | 16,850 | 9% |
| holiday | 16,835 | 5% |
| friend | 16,665 | 12% |
| girl | 16,378 | 21% |
| tomorrow | 15,823 | 10% |
| good | 15,541 | 5% |
| translator | 15,295 | 28% |
| to | 15,230 | 21% |
Its pleasing to see that the common themes of the top searches include: Basic communication phrases, expressions of love and affection, inquiries about well-being, and seeking information. There is a strong interest in everyday communication. The top searches highlight the importance of BSL for everyday interactions and relationship building.
Other news updates
An update to the SignBSL android app was also released to fix video playback issues and support the latest versions of Android. (Special thanks to Gary Rennie for your support with this app.)
In preparation for the new GSCE in BSL I have added a new page to make it easy to find all the BSL GCSE vocabulary that students are expected to learn as part of their qualification.
For those who use Reddit, I have now setup daily auto posting of videos to the BSL subreddit. This posts the same videos as found on twitter.
For those interested in the technology stack that powers the BSL dictionary, I have upgraded the MySQL database from 5.7 to version 8. I have also upgraded the AWS Lambda functions from dot net core 3.1 to .net6. I have also replaced most YouTube embeds to use self hosted videos for improved playback experience.
Looking forward to what 2024 will bring for SignBSL!
