<HTML><BODY style="word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; -khtml-line-break: after-white-space; ">SignWriting List<DIV>September 3, 2005</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Hello Lucyna and Everyone!</DIV><DIV>Thanks for this message about the camp on Polish Sign Language and SignWriting (that took place in Slovakia....is that correct)? smile...ha! I got confused because it was held in Slovakia, so I thought you were writing Slovakian signs...my mistake!</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>No rush at all writing the naturally-evolved signed languages of Deaf people in some parts of Slovakia (grin) ...if the education establishments in Slovakia have not acknowledged signed languages as real languages, then those who DO use a signed language probably use it in private in small groups. Maybe someday you will bump into some of them...you never know. Once a linguist told me that all cultures have naturally-evolved signed languages, although in many cultures, the hearing world is not aware of them...or they choose to ignore them officially...</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Val ;-)</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>-----------------------</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Lucyna Dlugolecka wrote:<DIV><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><DIV style="font-size: 17px; "><FONT size="2" style="font-size: 14px; ">I don't know anything of Slovakian Sign Language but I bet it is similar to Czech and Polish SLs. We wanted to meet some Deaf in Slovakia but we had no time for that. One day we had a trip to the city of Zilina, where probably a Deaf club is located but we didn't have the address. We went to Zilina for a few hour shopping and then we had to go back for the lecture I had to give :-). But we the hearing and the deaf discussed the issue at the camp. Namely, we were talking about a meeting with Slovak Deaf people in order to tell them about SW. But we didn't meet any Slovak Deaf...what a pity... maybe some day :-).</FONT></DIV><DIV style="font-size: 17px; "><FONT size="2" style="font-size: 14px; "></FONT> </DIV><DIV style="font-size: 17px; "><FONT size="2" style="font-size: 14px; ">Some time ago I wrote an article about the Deaf in Slovakia, basing in the infos found on the web. I learnt that young Deaf people in Slovakia don't want to sign, don't want to be dependent on interpreters on so on, and the Slovakian Sign Language is mostly used by older people. Strange, but I don't know any Slovak to ask him or her if that is true.</FONT></DIV><DIV style="font-size: 17px; "><FONT size="2" style="font-size: 14px; "></FONT> </DIV><DIV style="font-size: 17px; "><FONT size="2" style="font-size: 14px; ">The Slovak association of the Deaf, the name of which, translated into English, is the "Slovak Association of the Aurally Disabled" publishes a montly magazine for the Deaf, The Slovensky Gong. The magazine includes mostly articles on social and legal issues, councelling, event reports, hearing aids and CIs, etc. Our Swiat Ciszy editorial receives the magazine every month and I read it (in Slovak, haha!) looking for any interesting issues... I could take some steps to make them interested in SW but I don't know their general attitute to natural sign languages, bilingualism and so on, so I don't know what steps to take and how. I think we should just wait... :-)</FONT></DIV><DIV style="font-size: 17px; "><FONT size="2" style="font-size: 14px; "></FONT> </DIV></SPAN></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR style="font-size: 17px; "></DIV></BODY></HTML>