[sw-l] IMWA version 1.0 completed...

[Valerie Sutton]

SignWriting List
August 22, 2004

Stephen Slevinski wrote:
> Amazing work Val,

Thanks for being so interested in the IMWA, Stephen - It surprises me a 
little, since there are so many symbols, but I am very lucky that you 
want to work with it!

> As a programmer I'm excited to use the IMWA.  The Sign Puddle 
> dictionaries will be switching to the IMWA as soon as the graphics are 
> finished.  Each language dictionary will build its own subset of the 
> IMWA for use with the Create Sign Online tool.  The IMWA is 
> comprehensive, but overwhelming. 

Wow! This is amazing. Once a symbolset is defined for one signed 
language, it is called:

SSS-US........American Sign Language (ASL)
SSS-BR........Brazilian Sign Language (Libras)
SSS-DE........German Sign Language (DGS)
SSS-GB........British Sign Language (BSL)
SSS-TW.......Taiwan Sign Language

and so forth....

The SSS-US has already been defined, but I need to update it with the 
new numbers of SSS-2004....I will have that ready for you shortly. I 
would prefer that we use the SSS-US pre-defined in this way, but then 
offer people the chance to add more symbols if they need them, while 
creating signs in the SignPuddle Create program...Is that ok with you?

Meanwhile, your idea is great for the other countries that have not had 
the chance to define their language's symbolset yet...so the SSS-US is 
the only defined country symbolset in existance at the moment...

>
> Does anyone have ideas or plans for defining their language’s subset 
> of the IMWA.  Defining these subsets will be very valuable for 
> SignWriter software.  Defining these subsets will validate the 
> completeness of the IMWA.  This will prove the IMWA is ready for 
> widespread adoption.


Let me get you the updated SSS-US now....one step at a time ;-)


>
> When will the IMWA be added to Unicode?  Should we wait until SSS-2006?

Every symbol in the IMWA will have to be put into TrueType first. Then 
with the TrueType fonts ready to go, the Unicode is then programmed to 
work with other software...There are several people intensely 
interested in the development of Unicode, such as Stuart Thiessen, the 
SIL, Daniel Noelpp, and of course Guyhelm Azner, who has written a 
paper on his proposal for the implementation...but more on that 
later...

> We will need a conversion routine from SSS-1999 to SSS-2004.  But with 
> the IMWA; the numbering system is stable and the symbols have official 
> numbers that will not change.  Standardization can be a wonderful but 
> challenging time.

Smile...with your help, and so many other able programmers, I am sure 
it will be accomplished!


> I think that SignWriter Tiger will make life much easier, and 
> conversion problems will go away.  Do they need testers?  Defects 
> caught early are cheaper to fix.

I don't know, but that would be great! Write to:

Daniel Noelpp
d.noelpp at gmx.ch

Thanks for everything, Stephen!

Val ;-)

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