EHTIOPIA Message from Eyasu...

[Valerie Sutton]

SignWriting List
July 20, 2005

The message below from Eyasu in Ethiopia bounced back to me, the  
manager of the SignWriting List. For some reason the software that  
runs the List, said there was a diagram that made the message too  
long...Did you attach a diagram to this message, Eyasu? If so, could  
you send it again? Be sure it is a jpeg or a gif or png, and not  
other formats like BMP...sometimes the List software doesn't like  
BMP! smile...if that is not the reason, then just ignore this...but  
here is Eyasu's message, Everyone!....

---------------------------------
On Jul 20, 2005, Eyasu wrote:

Dearest Val and All,

Infact I am happy to contribute my professional experiance,  
Linguistics, to my illiterate deaf people.  The symbols that I have  
choosen from the sign puddle are thought to resemble with the hand  
shapes. That is my assumption as a biginner.

I was just thinking to call upon a deaf signers with access to  
Internet. I will try to make contact with the Deaf Association in  
Ethiopia and make them do their best. As to my knowledge, you may  
know it too, no school in Ethiopia uses Sign Writing. A new thing is  
happening which needs inistitutional, sociatal integration. Perhaps  
there need a Sociolinguistic Survey before taking an action.

You are right Val. 'U' seems exactly similar to the 1st Ethiopian  
Alphabet which is 'You' in English. U1, U2.......U7 which is the very  
nice one. But when you proceed the 2nd, 3rd.....33rd there is no  
English Alphabet which resembles the Ethiopian ones, as in the  
attached painted alphabets. So what I am thinking for the time being  
is to name them as 1st, 2nd, 3rd...33rd EMA. What do you think?  Once  
the initial alphabets are written the rest six Vowels are simple i.e.  
only moving the hands in different direction as it is shown in the  
Manual.

Eyasu




Eyasu tamene from Ethiopia wrote:
I have tried to sign write some of the alphabets of Ethiopians. I  
assumed some of them are not to be found in the sign puddle. Would  
you give your sinceare comments?


Hello Everyone and Eyasu!
This is great to see some SignWriting symbols next to the pictures,  
Eyasu...


Are you happy with the symbols you have chosen for these hand  
positions? Do you think that other Ethiopian signers would know what  
you are writing, without the pictures? If so, then why not add those  
to your Ethiopian SignPuddle? I added your first one to the Ethiopian  
SignPuddle already, as you know, using the name U1..Have you seen  
that one in your puddle?...Was that the way you wanted it named...U1?...



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