A method for sign language recognition includes receiving, with an input device, an input based on a plurality of hand movements and postures of a user that correspond to a sequence of signs, extracting a plurality of features from the input corresponding to the plurality of hand movements and postures, identifying, a start of the sequence of signs in the input based on a first set of features in the plurality of features and a first Hidden Markov Model (HMM) stored in the memory and identifying a first sign in the input based on a second set of features in the plurality of features and a second HMM stored in the memory. The method also includes generating an output corresponding to the first sign from the input.