A Study on Collocation Exploration Methods for L2(Korean Sign Language) Education for L1(Korean) Speakers Based on a Parallel Corpus

Objectives This study explores a method for identifying collocations in Korean Sign Language (KSL) using a Korean-KSL parallel corpus and examines its applicability to L1 (Korean) speakers learning KSL as an L2. Methods The Korean-KSL parallel corpus was preprocessed using Python, and high-frequency word pairs were extracted based on N-grams using #LancsBox. To systematically outline the collocation exploration process, the study focused on the most frequent preceding word, {돕다} (to help), and applied Log Dice and Delta P metrics to assess collocational strength, leading to the selection of collocation candidates. Results The application of the proposed collocation exploration method based on a parallel corpus enabled the identification of collocation candidates at the two-word level. Additionally, certain expressions that exhibited weak collocation potential at the two-word level were confirmed as collocations when expanded to three-word sequences. Moreover, the use of Log Dice and Delta P in the word-unit analysis quantitatively measured differences in word order between Korean and KSL, highlighting the significance of bidirectional collocational strength analysis. Conclusions The study confirmed the validity of the proposed collocation exploration method and demonstrated that word-unit analysis incorporating collocational strength is essential for identifying collocation candidates, beyond simple frequency-based approaches. Furthermore, the findings empirically show that collocation learning contributes not only to vocabulary acquisition but also to reducing word order errors in KSL education. Future research will expand the range of central words and genres to enhance the collocation list and establish a foundation for developing more refined educational materials for KSL learners.