[sw-l] QUESTION: How did SignWriting begin? for a mid-term...

[Valerie Sutton]

SignWriting List
November 12, 2004

QUESTION:
> I have a question and I am so sorry to bother you and if you don't
> have the time to awnser I would totally understand.  In my mid terms I
> am doing a piece on sign writing.....I am still trying to come to
> terms with sign writing and in the begining when i first came across
> it I wondered what the point of it was, as i took for granted that
> deaf people could read, I am begining to understand that this is not
> always the case. I wanted to know what made you come up with Sign
> writing?  Was it cause you wanted to give something back to the
> world?  And how did you go about creating it? I am so sorry to bother
> you but I am trying to see what route to go with in my article, i
> certinly don't want to give the wrong information and I am also trying
> to understand the whole concept of Sign writing. Thank you so much for
> you help...

Dear SW List:
Good questions. Long answers. It is hard to make short answers about 30
years history, and the general subject of Deaf Education!

One place to begin...There is a question-answer section on the web,
which we wrote years ago to try to answer some of these questions.
Please read these, and then write again with more specific
questions...in the list below, number 10 might answer some of your
questions...there are actually 30 or so questions and answers on the
web, but here are the first 10:


SIGNWRITING QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS, Directory
http://signwriting.org/about/questions/questions.html


1. Deafness, Sign Language & SignWriting
http://signwriting.org/about/questions/quest0000.html



2. Is Sign Language International?
http://signwriting.org/about/questions/quest0001.html



3. How Many Sign Languages Are There?
http://signwriting.org/about/questions/quest0002.html



4. What is SignWriting?
http://signwriting.org/about/what/what01.html



5. Why Write Sign Language?
http://signwriting.org/about/questions/quest0003.html



6. Is SignWriting a New Language?
http://signwriting.org/about/questions/quest0003.html#anchor551461



7. Is SignWriting Free To Use?
Yes! Questions & Answers About Trademarks
http://signwriting.org/about/questions/quest0004.html



8. How Can I Learn SignWriting?
  Different Choices Plus Workshop Descriptions
http://signwriting.org/about/questions/quest003.html



9. Can SignWriting Be Written By Hand?
Six-page article with illustrations
http://signwriting.org/lessons/cursive/byhand1.html



10. Why Was SignWriting Invented?
A message from Valerie Sutton
http://signwriting.org/about/questions/quest009.html


Val ;-)