[sw-l] Computer Applications for SignWriting

Valerie Sutton sutton at SIGNWRITING.ORG
Wed May 4 22:55:46 UTC 2005


SignWriting List
May 4, 2005

Dear SW List, and Augusto!
Everyday there seems to be new software or some new development 
regarding SignWriting in computers. And Augusto's new software is an 
example of the creativity that is happening all over the world...I had 
so much fun looking at your site, Augusto...thank you for this!!

Everyone...if you go to Augusto's link below...and then scroll down his 
web page...as you go down, you will find animation of SignWriting 
facial expressions, animation of shoulder and hip movement 
symbols...and animation of a person doing a sign that contains a Brush 
symbol, doing a Rub symbol...in other words, the animated figure shows 
what the movement symbol means...it is really quite exciting and I can 
see this will be valuable...Congrats, Augusto!

Your program and also Sandy's SignPoster are two programs that I look 
forward to studying more soon...

Meanwhile, Augusto, what is the name of your program? I can see you are 
calling it LIBRAS-SIGNWRITING, but actually your software is not just 
for LIBRAS...it is for any signed language...so does it have a name 
that is more general?....like SignWritingTutor, or SignConverter, or 
SignWritngAnimator or whatever...it needs a generic name for listing 
it...and the name has to be unique and not used by another program...

So give me the official names for your programs...Many thanks!

Val ;-)

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

Augusto from Brazil wrote:
> I did a software  CONVERSOR LIBRAS-SIGNWRITING  that I am improving in 
> this moment.But is for download in 
>
>  www.dicionariolibras.com.br  >> DOWNLOADS >> APLICATIVOS EDUCACIONAIS 
> E AFINS >> CONVERSOR LIBRAS-SIGNWRITING 
>
> with this software allow  to write in portugues and the software 
> translate for SW  in seconds.
>
> There are another software tha i am waiting for "feed-back"  
> www.dicionariolibras.com.br >>>DOWNLOADS >>> APLICATIVOS EDUCACIONAIS 
> E AFINS >> PRATIQUE SIGNWRITING
>
>  this is a very very very good software for practise SW.  It´s for 
> Libras but is very  easy to pass for another sign language. If someone 
> wish i can to configure for
>
> anaother sign language.
>
> Visit my site everyday I put a different animation for teaching SW.
>
> LOOK
>
> Augusto
>
>  augusto at dicionariolibras.com.br
>
>  
>  
>  -----------------------------------------------------
>   
> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: Valerie Sutton
>> To: SIGNWRITING List
>> Cc: Pennacchi Barbara
>> Sent: Monday, May 02, 2005 11:25 PM
>> Subject: [sw-l] Computer Applications for SignWriting
>>
>> SignWriting List
>> May 2, 2005
>>
>> Dear SW List:
>> I am writing a grant for new software development and I need to 
>> summarize all of our past and current software programs. I know there 
>> are some I have forgotten...Can you think of some other programs? 
>> Like recently, from Brazil, I know there is new software? Please 
>> write to tell us, so I can list it here...and if you find mistakes 
>> below, I would love to know...many thanks! Val ;-)
>>
>> ----------------------------
>>
>> Computer Applications for SignWriting
>>
>> SignWriter for Apple //e and //c (1986-1988): The original 
>> SignWriting computer program was written for the Apple //e and //c 
>> computers by Richard Gleaves, one of the developers of Apple Pascal, 
>> Modula 2 computer language.
>> SignWriter DOS for MS-DOS (1988-today): SignWriter for the Apple //c 
>> was ported over to MS-DOS in 1988. SignWriter DOS is still used today 
>> around the world on older computers running Windows 98 or ME. It does 
>> not run on Windows NT, 2000 or XP. To solve this problem, newer 
>> versions of SignWriter are under development. SignWriter is the first 
>> Sign-Language-Processing program in history, providing the ability to 
>> create long typed documents in the movements of signs. It also 
>> provides extensive Word-to-Sign dictionary features.
>> SignWriter Java (1999-Today): SignWriter DOS could not be ported over 
>> to the new Java computer language back in 1996, so it was re-written 
>> from the ground up in Java, but due to financial reasons, SignWriter 
>> Java could never be completed. Even so, it can be downloaded for free 
>> on the Internet anyway, and many people use it, because it can be 
>> used on modern operating systems, such as Mac OS X and all Windows 
>> operating systems. It will be replaced by SignWriter Tiger (see 
>> below), which is also a form of Java, in 2005.
>> SignWriter Tiger (2005 beta): The SignWriter Java program is being 
>> re-built again, this time by German-Swiss Deaf programmer Daniel 
>> Noelpp. It is scheduled for beta testing in May 2005. Daniel is 
>> programming in the newest version of Java, named Tiger. Hence, 
>> SignWriter Tiger will fix and improve the old 1999 program, plus add 
>> new features.
>> SignWriter Python (2005 beta): SignWriter is also being re-written in 
>> the new Python computer language, by German programmer Lars Majewski, 
>> at the request of SignWriting teacher Stefan Woehrmann. Already, the 
>> old SignWriter DOS files can be viewed in any operating system, using 
>> the new SignWriter Python Document and Dictionary Viewer.
>> SW-Edit (2000-Today): Created in Brazil by Rafael Piccin Torchelsen & 
>> Professor Antonio Carlos da Rocha Costa for the SIGN-Net Project in 
>> 2000, the SW-Edit program is an editing tool for SignWriting. Drag 
>> and drop the symbols into an editing box. This creates signs in SWML.
>> SWML (1999 to Today): There are four forms of SWML, the SignWriting 
>> Markup Language in the world: SWML-UCPel: the original SWML Formats, 
>> SWML-D: for the Flemish Online Dictionary, SWML-S: for SignPuddle 
>> Online Dictionaries, and SWDB: for UCPel Linguistic SignWriting 
>> Database.
>> SignWriting TrueType Fonts (2000-Today): There are three families of 
>> TrueType fonts with SignWriting symbols: The Sutton Fonts are 
>> Fingerspelling Fonts for 18 different countries, the Woehrmann Fonts 
>> include commonly-used signs in German Sign Language (DGS), and the 
>> Parkhurst Fonts were used to create the textbooks on SignWriting 
>> written in Spain, by Steve and Dianne Parkhurst, including their 
>> well-known book SignoEscritura. The symbols in the Parkhurst Fonts 
>> are specific to writing the Spanish Sign Language dialect of Madrid.
>> The Flemish Sign Language Dictionary on the web (2004 to Today) can 
>> be searched by words or by sign-symbols. Converts SignWriter DOS 
>> dictionary files automatically. Search for over 6,000 Flemish signs. 
>> An important feature is the ability to search for signs by handshape 
>> and/or contact symbols. This creates a two-way bilingual dictionary. 
>> Signs are created with SWML. VSigns (2004 to Today) from Greece. 
>> Synthesis of Virtual Reality Animations from SWML using MPEG-4 Body 
>> Animation Parameters… Find a sign. Read it in SignWriting. Then click 
>> on an animated figure and see the sign move. VSigns generates VRML 
>> animation sequences from SignWriting, based on MPEG-4 Body Animation. 
>> The SignWriting of each sign is provided as input and is initially 
>> converted to SWML (SignWriting Markup Language).
>> Sign WebMessage (2004 to Today) from Brazil. SWM is a web-tool that 
>> enables communication either in Portuguese or in Brazilian Sign 
>> Language (Libras). In the messages, the signs can be written in 
>> SignWriting in Libras and, optionally, their meaning in Portuguese.
>> SignPoster (2005 beta) from Great Britain. Programmer Sandy Fleming 
>> is developing a way to touch type SignWriting symbols, using a 
>> limited symbol set for one sign language.
>> SignWriting in Unicode is a project in discussion, at the Summer 
>> Institute of Linguistics, directed by Albert Bickford in Arizona, 
>> with the guidance of Unicode expert Michael Everson, in Dubin, 
>> Ireland. The project is on hold until funding can be found. It will 
>> take several years to create a Unicode for SignWriting, which will 
>> expand SignWriting’s use in other programs.
>> SignBank 2002-2004 Database Software in FileMaker Pro 5.0-6.0 from 
>> USA, by Valerie Sutton and Todd Duell. This groundbreaking 
>> multi-lingual database was designed to publish large SignWriting 
>> dictionaries sorted by Sign-Symbol-Sequence (the SSS), and provides 
>> the full SymbolBank, with all symbols in the entire SignWriting 
>> system. The International Movement Writing Alphabet (the IMWA) is 
>> every symbol for writing body movement and can be searched and 
>> studied through SignBank 2004. SignBank 2004 also provides Deaf 
>> children with illustrated dictionaries, and researchers a place to 
>> store their video clips and foreign signs. Sophisticated linguistic 
>> searches make it possible to find all the signs with the same 
>> handshape, or all the signs with the same combination of symbols, or 
>> all the signs with the exact SignSpelling…and several other search 
>> routines. New search routines can be created on the fly. The 
>> SignSpelling database is the first in history to give editors the 
>> chance to establish the sorting routines for their Sign-to-Word 
>> multi-lingual dictionaries. There are 20 print formats, and a special 
>> linguistic area for adding definitions written in Sign Language, and 
>> a place to add animated SignWriting for children.
>> SignPuddle 2004-2005: Stephen Slevinski has brought SignWriting to 
>> the web with a series of web-based programs designed for the everyday 
>> use. These programs include SignMail, for sending email in 
>> SignWriting, SignTranslate, for translating spoken language glosses 
>> to signs, and SignMaker, a way to create new SignWriting signs on the 
>> web by dragging and dropping symbols into a SignBox, and then saving 
>> them to the online SignPuddle dictionary. One can use the new signs 
>> immediately in email or in SignWriting documents, created by another 
>> program, SignText. Dictionaries can be edited by editors who are 
>> invited to review dictionary entries. And Slevinski is currently 
>> working on another related program called SignType, which will allow 
>> SignMaker to work with keyboard strokes as well as with a mouse.
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