[sw-l] LESSONS SignWriting Symbols

[Tini Pel]

Thank you Valerie for your understanding and your wonderful way of teaching.
We are never to old to learn eh !!!!!
Tini.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Valerie Sutton" <sutton at signwriting.org>
To: <sw-l at majordomo.valenciacc.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, February 15, 2005 2:47 PM
Subject: Re: [sw-l] LESSONS SignWriting Symbols


> SignWriting List
> February 15, 2005
>
> Tini Pel wrote:
> > Now my question about readers point of view and signers point of
> > view;.When
> > is a sign read or written from a readers point of view.
>
> I want to thank Stefan for his excellent answer. And to explain to you
> all...it is possible that the reason that Tini feels confused is
> because Tini learned DanceWriting first, back in the late 1970's. And
> in DanceWriting, the reader is sitting in the audience. Stanley the
> Stick Figure is dancing on the stage. The dancer on the stage is facing
> the reader. DanceWriting is written from that perspective.
>
> Then years later, SignWriting began, and in the beginning, we wrote the
> signer facing us, as if on a videotape. That is called the Receptive
> view...The reader is still sitting in the audience, and the signer is
> performing in front of the reader. There is nothing wrong with
> Recpetive view. We still use it today for some rare cases, and we can
> still read the Receptive writing of the early 1980's with no problems.
>
> BUT...as more and more Deaf people became skilled in SignWriting, our
> Deaf staff members (called the Deaf Action Committee for SignWriting -
> the DAC) requested that we switch the way we write. They wanted to
> write signs from their own perspective, called the Expressive view. And
> they were correct, that it was better for SignWriting to be read and
> written as if you are looking at your own hands...So now the Expressive
> view is the standard way that we write...
>
> So Tini, as the reader, you are still sitting in your chair watching
> the movement, but in the Expressive view, it is as if you are reading
> your own hands...almost like sitting behind a signer who is
> demonstrating...and you can see through his back and see his hands
> moving...so Expressive brings the SignWriting to you, as you experience
> it...
>
> And for all of you who are beginners with SignWriting...do not worry
> about DanceWriting...Right now you need to learn to read and write
> signs from the Expressive point of view, because that is our standard
> way of writing...
>
> Val ;-)
>
>
>