[sw-l] PHILIPPINES SignWriting Report

[Valerie Sutton]

SignWriting List
January 28, 2005

Dear SW List and Nana!
Thank you for this excellent report! Your work in the Philippines is 
really impressive, considering all the obstacles and problems you 
face...Can you share your current SignWriting dictionary with us? I 
know it is not finished, but it would be great to see some of your 
signs...maybe we can give you some feedback on the SignSpellings...we 
are all editing our dictionaries right now.

Regarding a new computer...well....yes...everyone knows I personally 
love the Macintosh, and here in the US at least, the prices for Macs 
are going down now, but even so...any new computer will be a blessing. 
SignWriter DOS works best on old computers...on Windows 95 or 98. If 
you get a Mac or Windows XP, you will have to run SignWriter DOS on a 
Windows 98 emulator...It all depends on how much you are using your new 
computer for SignWriter...

By the way, Nana...Have you seen the Sign Puddle dictionaries on the 
web?

http://www.SignBank.org/signpuddle

We could create a Filippino Sign Language section on the web for you, 
but you will need to access the internet, and I know that is sometimes 
problematic in the Philippines, so there will be a version you can use 
on your computer desktop later, and when that is ready, that will be 
another program you can use...If you would like a Filipino Sign Puddle, 
just tell us, and we will create it for you...

Best of luck with your work in the Philippines! And I hope you can 
share some of your signs with our List!...  Val ;-)

---------------------------


> PHILIPPINES SignWriting Report
> From: nana.dumitra at schlossklaus.at
> Date: 	January 23, 2005
>
> Greetings from the Philippines! You have not heard from me in a long 
> time, but we are still here and still busy. Our dictionary of FSL 
> (Filipino SL) in SW is slowly growing, we have started to teach more 
> deaf how to use it etc. but our main focus is on teaching deaf leaders 
> of 4 churches and working on translation (parts of the Bibel into FSL 
> using SW). This we do in cooperation with SIL/Wycliff Bible 
> translators. Just this past week my husband was able to attend a 
> seminar on FSL taught by the PFD (Philippine Federation for the Deaf). 
> They did a lot of research on FSL and have now presented their paper, 
> which is very impressive – proves FSL as being a true language and 
> gives a lot of good information about deaf culture etc. The only draw 
> back is that they don’t want to consider SW (we found out that they 
> have strong connections to Gallaudet and so they are more into Stokoe 
> J). Still, it is a good contact and we pray that the future will show 
> that more and more deaf will be interested in SW – probably more in 
> the provinces, where many deaf don’t know English at all or just very 
> little, PFD is mostly in Manila and there many deaf have a better 
> command of English. One thing that was very interesting from their 
> research: Bicol, the area we are living and working in is the one 
> region of the Philippines that has hardly been influenced by ASL and 
> so “our” signs here are the most “traditional” FSL.
>
> In March or April our organisation will buy a new laptop for our work. 
> Can you give us some suggestions as to what would be good to look at 
> in order to be able to use it well for SW? I recall some mails that 
> Mac would be better, but is more expensive (which is definitly an 
> issue for our organisation). What kind or operating system, programs, 
> memory, speed etc. should we look at to make it as “good” as possible 
> for SW? I don’t understand all the computer issues, but if you give me 
> some ideas then our computer guys in Austria will have a better idea 
> what to look for.
>
> Thank you so much,
> Nana in the Philippines
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