[sw-l] Are SignSpellings really synonyms?

[Valerie Sutton]

SignWriting List
April 29, 2004

Stephen Slevinski wrote:
> How many IMWA symbol synonyms are there anyway?  I've know about them,
> but
> never really researched this aspect of the IMWA.

Hello Everyone, Stuart, Stefan and Stephen -
Thanks for this interesting message...Actually I think we should be
careful about assuming these are synonyms...I am not so sure that is
true. These are different spellings of exactly the same sign...

Let me give you an example in English:

color
colour

Both are the same word. The second spelling is used more in Great
Britain. The first spelling is commonly used in the US...But I read
both as the same word...

Is that a synonym? I looked synonym up in a dictionary and it said it
was:

-----

synonym
n : two words that can be interchanged in a context are said to be
synonymous relative to that context [syn: equivalent word]

----------

but that is not a different spelling....They are talking about two
completely different words that mean the same thing...

In the beginning of writing English, centuries ago, there were multiple
spellings for different words, and over time, through a natural
evolution, one or two became the norm...I believe that is what is
happening with SignWriting...and that is fine. Let it evolve!!

Can Stuart give us an example of a synonym in ASL?...can you write both
signs in SignPuddle please, Stuart, and then show them to us...smile?

Val ;-)
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