10 Basic Dictionary Headers for Everyday ...

[Valerie Sutton]

SignWriting List
January 27, 2004

Charles Butler wrote:
> I don't understand the 3rd and 4th sign order.
> If one is going across the head, in rows, then sign 4,
> should come before sign 3, even if there are two
> handshapes in Sign 4, as the primary handshape (the
> first one) is at a higher place (the right forehead)
> than the center of the face (on the nose) of sign 3.
> Is there something I'm not seeing?

Hello Everyone, Charles and Adam!
Thanks for the question, Charles...It may be that we have a different
system when it comes to some of these details...and that is ok!...We
are allowed to have different ideas...So let me try to explain what I
have done....I have written on the diagram again...so take a look at
the attached again...

To explain in general...Palm facing is used for lookups...but within
the group of hands that are all one palm facing...which one comes
first, second, third etc? The rule I am using is the rotation angle
comes next...fingers pointing up come first, fingers pointing diagonal
come second, fingers pointing side come third and so forth...So the
sequence goes like this:

1. Palm Facing 1 (Fill 1)
2. Rotations
3. Palm Facing 2 (Fill 2)
4. Rotations

This is established by the SSS...So that is why the sign for Germany
(number 2) comes before the other two signs...Because the hand is
pointing up, and the next signs have the hand pointing to the
diagonal....

Now, I believe your question is about height, and why the nose contact
comes before the contact on the side of the head?

In the SSS, the symbol for contacting the nose comes before the symbol
for contacting the side of the head...The SSS is setup with 10
categories of symbols...Hands, Movement, Face, Head, Upper Body
etc...and the Head comes AFTER the Face...so that is why...

I do put Height first, within the same category. But in this case, they
are different categories...I was seeing the center of the face as
separate from the head. I wasn't going across the head in rows at all,
Charles...To do that, we would have to change the SSS quite a bit, and
blend the head symbols with the face symbols into one
category...smile...I realized this before...for the moment I am trying
it this way....I got used to thinking of the face before the head...the
wonderful thing about SymbolBank and SignBank is we can experiment and
test these different theories...(please see attached)...


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