RES: PROGRAMMERS: Typing SignWriting in Vertical Columns...

[Valerie Sutton]

SignWriting List
June 18, 2004

Sergio S. Ribeiro wrote:
> I was used columnMaker for columnzed my initials jobs, but deafs tell
> me no
> want vertical columns. So I stopped and used than only horizontal
> mode. And
> another problem founded with mode is because write title is not or
> sub-title
> is not clear or funny to see. But horizontal mode is better becouse it
> is
> possible.
>
> What you think about ? How do you do to prepare or writting
> texts,reports,
> etc in vertical mode ? What about it is look ?


Hello Everyone and Sergio!
Thank you for this message. I think it is great that you tried to use
ColumnMaker! I only wish the program was a better program. If it were,
you might have liked it better - ha!

But the reality is this:

1. No software at this time, can write vertical columns properly,
except a very very slow method in the current version of SignWriter
Java. I will be showing everyone how I did this later, but this
probably is not worth your time right now...Wait til better software is
developed...

2. Lots of people continue to write horizontally, from left to right,
and there is nothing wrong with that! ....In fact, I think it is great
when we write in any direction... I remember reading a poem written in
Spanish Sign Language, by a Deaf woman, and the poem placed the
SignWriting in diagonals and then circles...in artistic patterns...why
not? ;-)

3. There may be several reasons why your Deaf friends preferred the
writing from left to right. Perhaps they wanted to put spoken language
words next to the sign-sentences, and then it was easier to write both
languages in the same direction? That happened in Ireland. The Deaf
author Patrick Matthews originally wanted to teach SignWriting in
vertical columns in his book on Irish Sign Language, but it did not fit
well on the page with the English going from left to right, so he
started to write the ISL horizontally to fit the spoken language...That
book was for hearing people learning ISL, so English was involved, but
if the book was all ISL, for the Deaf Community...well maybe then
vertical columns would have been nice...

4. And last, your Deaf friends may not have been thinking in terms of
Spatial Comparisons. When body shifting occurs, it really is easier to
write vertically...In the past people didn't even know how to write
Spatial Comparisons...but now linguists, such as Penny Boyes Braem, in
Switzerland, chose to use vertical columns for their Noah and David
books, which were transcriptions of Deaf signers storytelling...it was
sooo visual and some of the signs didn't really have a spoken language
equivalent...but the vertical columns captured the feel of it....

Val ;-)