WHAT SAY

About the project

The Companion

The App

WHAT SAY — a native iOS companion.

The Goal

Turn fast-moving written and spoken English into clean, visual layouts.

The Core

Built with Deaf Gain for everyone who wants less language overload.

The Promise

Meet the user exactly where they are.

The Origin Story

The Founders

Built by a CODA and Deaf community member.

The Core Belief

Technology does not replace human interpreters, people learning ASL, or an inclusive community.

The Focus

A tool for situations where users want to check a letter or draft a quick text independently, without relying on family or friends.

The Name

Inspired by fast conversations or group settings where details get missed and people ask, "What say? What say?"

The Mission

Support personal autonomy with a fast, independent mobile option.

Language Structure

The Reality

ASL has no written form.

The Solution

WHAT SAY formats written English using a visual Gloss and Topic-Comment layout.

The Universal Benefit

Topic-Comment layout is shared by ASL and many spoken languages. It naturally supports ESL individuals, neurodiverse processors, and direct communication.

Hardware Accessibility

The Design

Native iOS integration that respects system-level user choices.

Text Features

Full support for Large Text and Dynamic Type.

Display Features

Full support for Invert Colors and Dark Mode.

Access Features

Full support for Braille Displays and Screen Readers.

The Boundaries

The Limit

WHAT SAY is a text formatter, not ASL, and does not replace a human interpreter.

The Utility

Provides a tool for fast English on pages, in speech, in group chats, and in emails. Unpacks hidden tone markers and hearing-centric idioms.

The Data

The app processes data locally on the phone. Personal words stay private unless explicitly shared.

The Platform

The product is a native iOS app. This website exists purely for documentation, trust, and support.

Coming Soon

COMING SOON

Live Interpreter Stream

Connect to live video relay or certified interpreter services directly inside WHAT SAY—where available through your state program, employer, agency, or approved partner network.

COMING SOON

Video ASL + Live Captions

Live rolling captions with the same comic layout.

When live captions ship, you will get speaker labels, mood guesses, and room FX beside the words — not a wall of subtitles.

  • who is speaking
  • tone / mood (guess)
  • readable words first
  • room FX panels (ring-ring, BANG…)

Sign up on the site to hear when live captions are ready.

Side comic strip (desktop)

A slim panel that sits off to the side of your screen.

Preview the desktop comic strip today — pop it out and dock it on the right edge:

The full desktop experience is still in development.

Partner apps

WHAT SAY is being built to tie into our professional business app and agency app—shared sign-in where it makes sense, one trust layer for clients, staff, and interpreters. Our professional business app handles operations, scheduling, and client workflow. WHAT SAY can plug in as its video ASL interpreting and live captioning layer—so teams stay in one app. Our agency app supports interpreter agencies and bookings. The same backbone: WHAT SAY powers live video ASL and live captions for assignments, intake, and follow-up.

Still not ASL

Not a replacement for certified interpreters in medical, legal, mental health, or emergency situations.