Writing Classifiers

[Valerie Sutton]

SignWriting List
February 10, 2006

Cherie from the Georgia School for the Deaf wrote:
> I'm also not clear on the use of the 'tense' symbol to identify  
> classifiers.  How and where is that placed?  I have read what's in  
> the textbook, but I don't really understand how to use that symbol  
> to show a classifier.

Hello Cherie and Everyone!
For those who are also on the TeachASL List, you have already seen  
most of this message, but this might be of interest to you, regarding  
writing classifiers, Cherie...I wrote an added note to you at the end  
of this message...so scroll down!!


Val wrote on the TeachASL List:

> Attached is an example from Goldilocks, showing eyegaze, placing  
> the bowls over to the left, then center and then over to the right,  
> one bowl is large, one is medium size and one is small, and the  
> spooning of the porridge into the bowls is visually connected in  
> space where the classifiers were placed in space....
>
> You can see as she places the large bowl to her left, the eyegaze  
> is focusing on the bowl, and when the bowl is placed on the right,  
> the eyegaze is to the right, looking down at the bowl...and as the  
> porridge is spooned out into bowls the eyegaze moves accordingly...


Cherie - Regarding this attached file...notice that I chose to place  
the Tension Symbol under the hands, but sometimes the Tension Symbol  
is placed differently...it has to be near the hand that is  
tense...The Tension Symbol represents the feeling of Tension when you  
place something imaginary in space, and in this case, they are bowls  
of porridge...smile...

But other classifiers do not place things in space, so the Tension  
Symbol is not always used, although when I see a Tension Symbol  
placed near a hand that is floating in space, I figure it probably is  
a classifier...That is why I am so encouraged by your writing of  
sentences in SignText, because you started to touch on writing  
classifiers which we need to do a lot, to be able to write textbooks  
on writing ASL grammar...smile...Thank you, Cherie, for your  
enthusiasm in using SignText! I am working on the manual now...Val ;-)




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