# Universal Sign Language Dictionary (USL)

USL is the PlatPhormNews public universal-symbol and signage reference layer.

- Base URL: https://usl.platphormnews.com
- Symbols: 204 canonical records
- Categories: 15 canonical categories
- Public access: homepage, symbol browsing, search, filtering, Learn, Quiz, Statistics, API docs, OpenAPI, llms, RSS/feed, sitemap, and read-only MCP introspection
- Auth: public-safe Phase 1 reads do not require a key; future protected backend actions use PLATPHORM_API_KEY only
- Storage: static canonical symbol/category data; quiz progress and favorites are browser-local where used
- Scope: universal public symbols, accessibility icons, public signage, wayfinding, safety, transportation, facilities, commerce, medical, environment, communication, emoji-adjacent symbols, and cross-cultural visual communication
- Safety: USL is not a full signed-language interpreter and does not replace natural signed languages
- Emoji integration: 192 symbols have emoji.platphormnews.com links; standalone public symbols are labeled
- Standards: ISO 7001, Unicode, and IEC 60417 reference links are included; official inclusion is claimed only when canonical data has a matching code
- Model support: degraded; no invented AI output is generated
- MCP endpoint: https://usl.platphormnews.com/api/mcp
- API docs: https://usl.platphormnews.com/api/docs
- OpenAPI: https://usl.platphormnews.com/openapi.yaml
- RSS: https://usl.platphormnews.com/rss.xml
- Sitemap: https://usl.platphormnews.com/sitemap.xml
- Trace: W3C trace context and safe PlatPhorm trace headers are accepted and emitted on API/MCP/cron responses