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Hi Val,<br>
<br>
Thanks for starting a message on terminology. I'm not using the
terminology correctly, so this is very helpful.<br>
<br>
<img src="cid:part1.08030808.08040006@signpuddle.net" alt=""><br>
<br>
I'm a bit confused by equating the roman alphabet to SignWriting. The
roman alphabet is a sequence of ordered symbols. SignWriting is a
system for writing signed languages. I think the roman alphabet is
similar to the IMWA. And I think that SignWriting is similar to what
is taught in English class.<br>
<br>
<br>
<img src="cid:part2.07090307.06020804@signpuddle.net" alt=""><br>
<br>
I'm confused by what SignSpelling actually means. Is SignSpelling what
you use, what you do, or what you get? Is SignSpelling for writing or
sorting? I thought that SignSpelling was a subset of SignWriting that
encompasses how to write sign and how to sequentially list the symbols
in a sign for sorting.<br>
<br>
The word spelling has 2 definitions. 1) The act of the person who
spells a word. 2) The way a word is spelled. It seems to me that
SignSpelling is the system of rules that a person uses while he is
spelling(1) a sign which results in a spelling(2) of a sign. Spelling
is both his action(1) and his result(2), but he uses the rules of
SignSpelling for guidance while he works. <br>
<br>
Many definitions of "spell" mention the sequential order of the
letters, but that is because of cultural bias. The word spell comes
from older words that mean "to talk" or "to relate".<br>
Middle English <em>spellen<br>
</em>Old French <em>espeller</em><br>
Old English <em>spellian</em><br>
<br>
It is interesting to note that "gospel" is derived from "good talk".<br>
<br>
If I was reading a document, I would hope that the words (or signs)
were spelled correctly. With most spoken languages, a word's spelling
is used for sorting because words are spelled sequentially. However,
the symbols in a signs do not appear sequentially, but in 2 dimensional
space. I consider this 2 dimensional representation of a sign to be
the sign's spelling. If we had a Sign Spelling Bee, the contestants
would watch a person perform a sign and would probably use a blackboard
to write the sign.<br>
<br>
But this brings us to the question of how to sort signs in a
dictionary. We need a way to write the symbols of a sign in a
sequential order. The SignSpelling Guidelines 2004 is a great
reference for this
(<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.signwriting.org/archive/docs2/sw0145-SignSpelling-2004.pdf">http://www.signwriting.org/archive/docs2/sw0145-SignSpelling-2004.pdf</a>).
<br>
<br>
And that's why I was using the terms spelling and sequence when talking
about a sign. A sign's spelling is what you would find in a sign
language text. A sign's sequence (or sort order) is a list of a sign's
symbols that can be used for sorting.<br>
<br>
-Steve<br>
<br>
<br>
Valerie Sutton wrote:
<blockquote
cite="mid2854068B-28AF-4066-A773-DC209E53890A@signwriting.org"
type="cite">SignWriting List
<br>
March 21, 2006
<br>
<br>
Dear SW List Members!
<br>
Recently someone asked me to explain SignWriting Terminology (the
English words I use to describe different aspects of SignWriting).
<br>
<br>
So I will create a chart of the terms I use in English. I hope we can
translate these terms into other spoken languages later.
<br>
<br>
Here is a beginning...More will be coming later...continued next
message...
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
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<center><img src="cid:part3.02030301.06060309@signpuddle.net"></center>
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