[Sw-l] Hands orientation and corresponding symbols rotation

Adam Frost icemandeaf at GMAIL.COM
Sat May 4 12:23:56 EDT 2019


These symbols are difficult for many beginners because of the difference in rational and intuitive interpretation of the symbols. The rational interpretation comes about when looking that the function of the individual symbols and how they get their meaning, which is what you are doing right now. And there is nothing wrong with that. Basically, everything your email “assumed” is correct in the rational interpretation of the symbols. (Of course, I am assuming that by rotating 90º you mean rotating on the floor plane rather than the wall plane.)

However, I doubt that you have actually been rotating them the “wrong” way because there is an intuitive interpretation as well. The intuitive interpretation of the symbols comes into play when you write complete signs and the symbols just don’t look right because the fingers aren’t pointing in the correct direction. Let me quote from the Hand Symbols Manual.

Finger Direction Is Meaningful
Two ways to write the same positions: The Top View of the Back of the Hand can be written at
a slant. Some writers feel this looks like real life, because the fingers are directed down.

Basically, the intuitive interpretation of the hand symbol means that the symbol on the right in the image below can mean the same as the symbol on the left.


This is not limited to the Back of the Hand in Top View; this same interpretation can be applied to other rotations as well. The best way to understand how this interpretation works is by actually writing signs instead of analyzing the technical functions of the symbols.


Adam

> On May 4, 2019, at 4:17 AM, Daniele Giacomini <appunti2 at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
> 
> Hello,
> I realized that, often, I have been using hand symbols rotated in the wrong way. Trying to make my mind clear, I have prepared a table for the shape "Angle" and I am asking your help.
> 
> Firstly to understand if what you can see in the following table is correct:
> 
> Angle
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> Secondly: if the first three columns are correct, do I have to assume that the rotations in the last three columns should be interpreted as parallel to the floor?
> 
> Thirdly: if the above assumptions are correct, do I have to assume that: 
> 
> , rotated 90° counterclockwise, is the same as  ?
> 
> 
> , rotated 90° clockwise, is the same as ?
> 
> , rotate 90° counterclockwise, is the same as  ?
> 
> 
> Thank you for you attention.
> 
> Regards,
> Daniele
> 
> 
> 
> ________________________________________________
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