FRANCE Sign for Etudiant

[Valerie Sutton]

SignWriting List
September 20, 2005

Juliette and Charles -

I showed you this diagram because you said you were interested in  
research and details...smile...

Please see the attached diagram. When you write the Finger Movement  
Symbols, without adding the second ending position, it technically  
can mean ANY kind of closing, including a small closing that does not  
touch at the end.

Charles said that he would have assumed it must be number 2. And of  
course, if you are from the western world, and use a signed language  
that has some influence from French Sign Language, like American Sign  
Language for example (smile), then of course you can assume  
that ...and that is fine!

But writing other signed languages, like the signed languages in  
Africa or Asia, cannot make that assumption. So I was trying to  
explain that in the research world, we like to write both positions  
to make it clear, but if you are writing for your own language only,  
then of course you do not have to write every detail...

So Charles, you cannot assume that all signed languages will  
automatically close to the touching position....Even it that seems  
natural to you and me!  Val ;-)




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