SignBSL Year in Review 2021

End of a year, so time for a quick analysis of the year. SignBSL has been running since 2013 and has experienced growth every year. This year 23,433,479 searches were completed, an increase of just over 16% from last year. It is always fascinating to see what people search for. I have included the top 50 searches below.

Search Query No. Searches % change
how are you 54,935 67%
hello 34,330 15%
I love you 33,765 225%
my name is 32,226 32%
happy 32,043 17%
what 30,365 11%
want 29,960 1%
and 29,299 23%
tired 27,973 94%
how 27,937 0%
I 26,796 -5%
thank you 26,698 32%
like 24,970 -7%
no 24,787 9%
good morning 23,976 50%
you 23,081 -4%
do 22,907 -1%
why 22,275 4%
love 22,135 -21%
have 22,125 0%
when 21,489 3%
more 20,893 22%
with 20,084 5%
can 19,716 -7%
good 18,771 26%
a 18,770 36%
where 18,458 12%
to 18,299 -1%
sorry 18,275 33%
please 18,170 23%
toilet 18,115 27%
go 17,963 -5%
beautiful 17,876 26%
yes 17,824 11%
help 17,752 20%
dog 17,365 14%
friend 16,861 17%
on 16,752 76%
who 16,713 6%
word 16,502 0%
today 16,476 2%
school 16,200 5%
need 16,188 -3%
is 15,597 -7%
sister 15,305 26%
say 15,185 62%
the 15,076 17%
your 14,930 16%
are you ok 14,925 100%
hello, my name is 14,860 134%

Its interesting that the top searches are people wanting to introduce themselves or a basic greeting. Clearly a large number of those searching are new to British Sign Language. Phrases such as 'I love you`, `love` and `beautiful` also feature. Perhaps a meeting with a deaf person has prompted someone to learn a short message.

Its also interesting to compare various word pairings. For example "No" was searched 24,782 compared to "Yes" at 17,824. "Sister" searched for 15,305 compared to "Brother" at 13,123. "Good morning" searched for 23,976 compared with "Good afternoon" at 10,606.

Daniel Mitchell

Daniel Mitchell