SignBSL year in review 2023

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!