use of sign language in Jordan

[Dan Parvaz]

Obviously not Albert, here. But I think I'd like a crack at his. An argument
for SW not being an alphabet is that an alphabet is not simply a list of
ordered symbols. Chinese characters are also ordered (by number of strokes,
radical, etc.) and for writing, but it is clearly not an alphabetic system.
Writing is powerful technology, but I'm not convinced it "improves the
quality" of the brain -- you'll have a hard time convincing me that your
brain or mine is any better than that of a bushman -- but it certainly
allows us to use our brain differently.

As for SW, one of the alarms, as Albert said, is that they tend to be more
economical than other systems (3,000 logograms vs. 100 syllables, vs. 30
alphabetic characters). They also tend to represent language on the
segmental level (vowels, consonants, tones)... what a segment is in a SL is
not necessarily settled. What SW does do is take features (what some call
"parameters" of a sign) as the level of representation. A comparable system
in English might represent tongue position, airflow, and glottal activity.

Cheers,

-Dan.

These are laymen statements.  Not universal statements, but they are true.
> "A language can be spoken or signed.
> "An alphabet is an ordered list of symbols for writing."
> "Literacy is the ability to read and write language using a defined
> alphabet."
> "Literacy improves the quality of the brain."
> "If you are literate in a language, you should be able to write using
> paper and pencil."
>
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