<html><body><div style="color:#000; background-color:#fff; font-family:garamond, new york, times, serif;font-size:12pt"><div><span>I completely agree with you on a smaller symbol set. I thought we were done with the work in Brazil, but Fernando Capovilla has been able to greatly expand and focus the work so that Brazil may be able to have a defined symbol set soon. </span></div><div> </div><div>Charles Butler<br>chazzer3332000@yahoo.com<br>240-764-5748<br>Clear writing moves business forward.<br></div> <div style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: garamond, 'new york', times, serif; "> <div style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; "> <div dir="ltr"> <font size="2" face="Arial"> <hr size="1"> <b><span style="font-weight:bold;">From:</span></b> MARIA GALEA <maria.azzopardi@UM.EDU.MT><br> <b><span style="font-weight: bold;">To:</span></b> SW-L@LISTSERV.VALENCIACOLLEGE.EDU <br> <b><span
style="font-weight: bold;">Sent:</span></b> Sunday, July 29, 2012 5:59 PM<br> <b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Subject:</span></b> Re: An alphabet for a specific sign language from the ISWA 2010<br> </font> </div> <br>
Thank you Adam for your feedback. Your comment on the benefit of having a<br>smaller symbol-set (an alphabet) for specific languages is very much<br>appreciated, and I will include your comment and refer to you (if you give<br>me permission).<br><br>Any feedback is appreciated at this stage, because so little has been<br>written about the subject of specific alphabets. Additionally being who<br>you are, a Deaf person/ASL user and surely one of the most highly skilled<br>SignWriters - your comment is invaluable! Thank you!<br>maria<br><br>> As far as I know, there hasn't been much, if any, on the type of work you<br>> are asking about. I think it is because there are still so many things<br>> that haven't been written in every sign language that it is still hard to<br>> say that these symbols will never be used in a given sign language.<br>> However, the information that you have found means that you can focus on<br>> teaching people
those symbols first rather than going through all in<br>> order. Hopefully we will get to that point with more sign languages.<br>><br>> Adam<br>><br>> On Jul 29, 2012, at 2:10 PM, "MARIA GALEA" <<a ymailto="mailto:maria.azzopardi@UM.EDU.MT" href="mailto:maria.azzopardi@UM.EDU.MT">maria.azzopardi@UM.EDU.MT</a>><br>> wrote:<br>><br>>> Once again thank you Charles and Val for your feedback!<br>>><br>>> I understand that the symbol frequency is a good way to find out symbols<br>>> used to write a specific language - and it can be done - it's a<br>>> wonderful<br>>> tool in Puddle (thank you Steve!) and I have used it very recently to<br>>> analyze the Maltese Sign Language alphabet. However it's not the<br>>> intention<br>>> of the work to figure out other languages alphabets etc. What I need to<br>>> know is whether this work has been carried out by other researchers
or<br>>> teachers.<br>>><br>>> I am fully aware (as i have taught SignWriting this way in the past<br>>> also)<br>>> that the ISWA 2010 can be used as it is to write any sign language - and<br>>> so it's natural that the process of identifying the alphabet of a<br>>> language<br>>> may be bypassed. That is, you can still teach the writing of a specific<br>>> language WITHOUT having yet discovered the alphabet, because ALL symbols<br>>> of any alphabet are there and ready in the ISWA 2010.<br>>><br>>> However just to summarize one small finding from my work - for Maltese<br>>> Sign Language, 268 base symbols are used from the ISWA's 652. On further<br>>> analysis the number may be reduced to 248 symbol.<br>>><br>>> So Maltese Sign Language has an alphabet of 248 symbols - now once this<br>>> work is completed - future manuals for the writing of Maltese
sign<br>>> language need not cover the 403 base symbols that are NOT used, are NOT<br>>> part of this specific language. See the point I'm after? There may be<br>>> benefits from having the alphabet set.<br>>><br>>> This is one very thin slice of the work, there is a long way to go...<br>>><br>>> maria<br>>><br>>><br>>><br>>><br>>><br>>>> SignWriting List<br>>>> July 28, 2012<br>>>><br>>>> Hi Maria and Charles -<br>>>><br>>>> Yes, Charles is correct. Using the Symbol Frequency feature in<br>>>> SignPuddle<br>>>> Online is an excellent way to find all of the symbols used to write the<br>>>> signs in that specific database. For example, imagine you are searching<br>>>> for all of the handshapes used in American Sign Language.<br>>>><br>>>> 1. Go to the ASL SignPuddle
dictionary:<br>>>><br>>>> ASL SignPuddle Dictionary<br>>>> http://www.signbank.org/signpuddle2.0/index.php?ui=1&sgn=4<br>>>><br>>>> 2. Click on Symbol Frequency.<br>>>> 3. Click on the Hands category.<br>>>> 4. Click on the SymbolGroup you want.<br>>>> 5. Notice in that group, which symbols have numbers under them, and<br>>>> which<br>>>> ones are grey?<br>>>> 6. The grey symbols are symbols not used in writing ASL signs in the<br>>>> ASL<br>>>> dictionary puddle.<br>>>> 7. The numbers under the symbols shows how many times that symbol was<br>>>> used<br>>>> to write signs in this database�<br>>>><br>>>> See attached -<br>>>><br>>>><br>>>><br>>>><br>>>><br>>>><br>>>><br>>>><br>>>>
-------<br>>>><br>>>><br>>>><br>>>> On Jul 27, 2012, at 10:38 PM, Charles Butler wrote:<br>>>><br>>>>> The fastest way to do that is to look at "symbol frequency" in any of<br>>>>> the SignPuddles. This would give you the current research on the<br>>>>> minimal<br>>>>> pairs of a language. For example, one of the earlier publications of<br>>>>> LIBRAS had determined a certain number of handshapes (around 96), then<br>>>>> people began putting in the variants from Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro,<br>>>>> and<br>>>>> Rio Grande de Sul and the number expanded. Each day we've gotten a few<br>>>>> more handshapes. When I was there in 2000, there were two handshapes,<br>>>>> for example, using the ring finger and the thumb in contact, "droga"<br>>>>> and<br>>>>> "noiva", which
depend on where the thumb is placed.<br>>>>><br>>>>> Charles Butler<br>>>>> <a ymailto="mailto:chazzer3332000@yahoo.com" href="mailto:chazzer3332000@yahoo.com">chazzer3332000@yahoo.com</a><br>>>>> 240-764-5748<br>>>>> Clear writing moves business forward.<br>>>>> From: MARIA GALEA <<a ymailto="mailto:maria.azzopardi@UM.EDU.MT" href="mailto:maria.azzopardi@UM.EDU.MT">maria.azzopardi@UM.EDU.MT</a>><br>>>>> To: <a ymailto="mailto:SW-L@LISTSERV.VALENCIACOLLEGE.EDU" href="mailto:SW-L@LISTSERV.VALENCIACOLLEGE.EDU">SW-L@LISTSERV.VALENCIACOLLEGE.EDU</a><br>>>>> Sent: Friday, July 27, 2012 11:34 PM<br>>>>> Subject: An alphabet for a specific sign language from the ISWA 2010<br>>>>><br>>>>> Dear all,<br>>>>><br>>>>> Me again with one more question..<br>>>>><br>>>>> Has anyone out
there studied the alphabet of his/her sign language-<br>>>>> that<br>>>>> is has anyone derived a smaller amount of symbols from the ISWA 2010,<br>>>>> as<br>>>>> the significant symbols (an alphabet) for writing a specific language<br>>>>> e.g.<br>>>>> ASL, BSL, Norwegian Sign Language, German sign language etc?<br>>>>><br>>>>> If you know of any such work could you direct me to it please.<br>>>>><br>>>>> If you have carried it out would love to include and refer to your<br>>>>> work<br>>>>> in<br>>>>> my dissertation.<br>>>>><br>>>>> Once again I truly appreciate ANY feedback whatsoever,<br>>>>><br>>>>> Thanks<br>>>>> Maria<br>>>>><br>>>>><br>>>>><br>>>>
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