LL-L "Anniversary" 2005.05.03 (04) [E]

Tue May 3 15:13:15 UTC 2005

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L O W L A N D S - L * 03.MAY.2005 (04) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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A=Afrikaans Ap=Appalachian B=Brabantish D=Dutch E=English F=Frisian
L=Limburgish LS=Lowlands Saxon (Low German) N=Northumbrian
S=Scots Sh=Shetlandic V=(West) Flemish Z=Zeelandic (Zeêuws)
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From: Sandy Fleming <sandy at scotstext.org>
Subject: "Anniversary" [E]

> From: Mike Morgan <Mike.Morgan at mb3.seikyou.ne.jp>
> Subject: LL-L "Anniversary" 2005.04.17 (06) [E]
>
> Just took a gander at some of the Wren stories. Great!
>
> But one (three?) clarification(s) to Sandy's BSL transcription.
>
> Sandy writes:
> "This is a translation of the story in British Sign Language using the
> international Sign Writing system".
>
> No, this transcription uses SignWriting (ONE word, and it probably should
> have the trademark symbol after it), which is not "_the_ international
> Sign
> Writing system" (emphasis added) but "_A_ Sign writing system"
> (originating,
> incidentally, in dance notation), which granted IS used internationally
> ...
> but so are several others. (Hamnosys, from Hamburg, is perhaps the most
> popular here in Japan, but personally I find both less than satisfactory
> (both aesthetically and linguistically) ... and I use my own very
> idiosyncratic and un-international Sign writing system.)

Do you think you could write "The Wren" in Hamnosys (in JSL, for example)?
Would it be clear and accurate? Would it be easy to read?

Is Hamnosys really a writing system? Is Stokoe Notation really a writing
system? Is it international?

Is there any literature on the Web in Hamnosys at all? For example are there
any stories for children such as you see appearing in SignWriting? Do young
children actually read and write Hamnosys as part of their education, as
happens in SignWriting?

I think that if we're looking for a writing system, SignWriting is the only
available choice. It has the bonus that its characters do for sign languages
what the IPA does for spoken languages - writing in a specific languages is
a matter of choosing the appropriate subset.

There's no need to have the trademark symbol after anything - not even Coca
Cola  :)  I think in the case of SignWriting it would be detrimental as the
inventor (Valerie Sutton) has made every effort to make sure that people
understand that it's for use, free, by anyone anywhere. I'll ask her what
she thinks!

> And there probably should be a note on how to read the columns: probably
> everyone assumes top to bottom, but living where I do, I am always tempted
> to read vertical columns of text starting on the upper right, whereas most
> "westerners" would start on the upper left.

There's no rule about this - in general, SignWriters seem to have rules for
things that need rules, and things that have no advantages one way or the
other are left open. So yes, an indication of where to start might be a good
idea.

Sandy
http://scotstext.org/

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From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: Anniversary

Hello, folks!

Our anniversary project (http://www.lowlands-l.net/anniversary/) keeps
progressing nicely, though some parts are slow-going, such as conversion of
sound files, especially those converted from cassette recordings.  Patience
please!  If you are worried about the fate of your recordings, please write
to Henry Pijffers (henry.pijffers at saxnot.com).

So those and other goodies are still to come.  Actually, there's something
new pretty much everyday, at least some changes.  You might want to check it
out regularly.  Just yesterday I added versions in Faeroese and Armenian,
thanks to Mike Szelog's facilitation.

Please consider further contributions to this, if not translations then
personal introductions or at least notes in the guestbook.  A Northumbrian
version would be very desirable, as a sort of link between English and
Scots.

I think we should make an effort to make known the existence and the
location of this anniversary presentation, not only to pertinent
organizations and web presenters but also to schools and educational
organizations, because I feel that this presentation, using a "cute" story,
may start a few young minds off in developing an interest in language and
linguistics.  So, please feel free to contact such organziations and schools
in your countries and regions.  Also, Mathieu and I have been talking about
sending out brief news releases about it and our anniversary to a number of
organizations and even news organizations.  I think we should have versions
in English, Dutch and German, preferably also in Frisian and Afrikaans.  We
haven't gotten it together so far.  Too much to do, too little time.  Any
help with it would be much appreciated.  Please write to me if you feel like
helping with this.

Thanks and regards,
Reinhard/Ron

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