Finger Movement Symbols

[Valerie Sutton]

SignWriting List
February 29, 2004

Dear SW List Members:
I look forward to getting back to reading all your messages about Happy
Birthday, Grace, Greece and British Sign Language - thanks for all the
great messages....We have a great List, don't you think? ;-))

Today, Sunday, I am completing a quick, small SignBank for Ingvild
Roald in Norway. I had chosen to make some programming changes to
SignBank recently, and that meant that the signs had to be re-entered
into our database, because the programming changes were large enough,
that we had to re-enter the data. So I did that for the American
database, and then I offered to help Ingvild to do that for the
Norwegian database too, since I know Ingvild is using SignBank as a
part of her poster-presentation in Lisbon...so...when I am finished
with the Norwegian work, I will be back on the List again...;-)

Meanwhile, there is one subject I would like to re-open on the List.
The little Finger Movement Symbols were designed with one idea in mind,
but then later, I found that people all over the world are using the
symbols a little differently...and this has been hard for me, to pin
down what we should standardize. So let me share how I had originally
designed them, and then we can talk about your interpretations of what
you are seeing...

Usually, I do not use the Finger Movement Symbols for one opening and
closing. I feel I can write that with two handshapes and that seems
easier to read. For me, the Finger Movement Symbols are used for
multiple finger movements...like closing and opening many times in a
row...like this example (see attached)...


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