[sw-l] Computer Applications for SignWriting

Wed May 4 23:45:49 UTC 2005

Dear Valerie and SW list,

             Thank you for your words VAL.  I am translating and  finishing the software. Give-me a couple of days.
             May you  VAL  or anybody of the list help  to indicate what is the exactly sign of  each movement of the eyes in the attach animation
             Pedro AUGUSTO marques
             augusto at dicionariolibras.com.br
             www.dicionariolibras.com.br  
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Valerie Sutton 
  To: sw-l at majordomo.valenciacc.edu 
  Sent: Wednesday, May 04, 2005 7:55 PM
  Subject: Re: [sw-l] Computer Applications for SignWriting

  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.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/sw-l/attachments/20050504/109ad58d/attachment.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: EYES ----------.gif
Type: image/gif
Size: 132816 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/sw-l/attachments/20050504/109ad58d/attachment.gif>