Can you read this email? ;-)

[Stuart Thiessen]

A minimal pair is a lingistic term for a pair of words (or a pair of
signs) that are only different in one way.  For English, a minimal pair
might be _car_ and _care_, or _care_ and _pear_ or _cat_ and _bat_, etc.
  In ASL, SOON and TRAIN are different based on the orientation of the
hands.

I am not sure if SMILE and ANNOUNCE are actually minimal pairs because
there are actually two differences between the signs.  ANNOUNCE has no
rub and moves forward and to the side.  SMILE has rub and moves in an
arc up.

But minimal pairs are very very helpful for teaching writing, so it
would be good to make a list of minimal pair signs because they are good
key signs for teaching reading and writing.

This is another feature that would be very helpful for a dictionary if
it could identify signs which are identical except for one parameter.
It would allow researchers to quickly identify potential minimal pairs.
  Of course, different spellings might cause the program to miss
potential  minimal pairs, but that could be worked around I suppose.
Just a thought that occurred to me.

Thanks,

Stuart


Valerie Sutton wrote:

> SignWriting List
> May 3, 2004
>
> Hello Charles -
> What is a minimal pair? And why would SMILE and ANNOUNCE be a mimimal pair?
>
> Val ;-)
>
> ---------------------
>
>
> On May 3, 2004, at 3:21 PM, Charles Butler wrote:
>
>> Well, "smile" and "announce" make a good "minimal pair" then.  Would
>> be a good example for an advanced SW textbook.  All of us tend to
>> "think in what we know" rather than actually "read" a sign.
>>
>> Charles
>>
>>
>> Valerie Sutton <sutton at SIGNWRITING.ORG> wrote:
>> SignWriting List
>> May 3, 2004
>>
>> Bill Reese wrote:
>> > I had a little trouble with "Announcing".  I don't think that's what
>>  > you are saying but I don't know ASL enough to know what else that
>>  > movement may mean. Bill
>>
>>
>> Hello Everyone, and Bill, and Stefan!
>> Thanks for reading my email in ASL signs, Bill. You did a great job!
>>  Everything was perfect except for the one sign....
>>
>> I am no great expert on ASL either! I prepared that email on the PUDL
>>  site, using English glosses...
>>
>> Stefan guessed correctly...I was trying to write the sign for
>>  SMILE...it was rubbing in the mouth area, where the sign for ANNOUNCE
>>  moves forward without any symbols for rubbing...Please see the
>>  attached:
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> > ATTACHMENT part 2 image/png x-mac-type=504E4766; x-unix-mode=0644;
>> x-mac-creator=3842494D; name=announce-smile.png
>
>
>
>