NORTHERN IRELAND International work needs both simplicity and details :-)

[Valerie Sutton]

SignWriting List
November 5, 2005

Hello Shane and Everyone!
One last note about International Signs, SignWriting and Movement  
Writing (writing body movement, gesture and mime)...

At least a decade ago, in England, in Bristol, Bencie Woll, Lorna  
Allsop and a Norwegian Deaf man, whom Ingvild knows...Jon Martin  
Brauti...they had a project at the University of Bristol to write the  
movements of International signing from videotape...so that is  
another reason to be open to having workshops on Movement Writing, if  
the Sympoisum is held in the UK...because that was their big project  
in the UK...writing international signing!

You can read about Bencie Woll's International Signs project on this  
web page:

http://www.signwriting.org/uk/GB01.html

Scroll down to the bottom of the web page to read about Jon Martin  
Brauti!

Val ;-)






On Nov 5, 2005, at 8:52 AM, Valerie Sutton wrote:
>
> Shane Gilchrist O hEorpa wrote:
>> excellent - we didnt want to use the longer complicated stuff - we  
>> are
>> meant to use signwriting NOT the notation system - SignWriting can be
>> used as a notation system shall we want to research signed  
>> languages -
>> but for everyday use, its important to have signwriting (short, fast
>> and quick) - i always says that signwriting is totally useless if you
>> dont know the signed language itself FIRST.thank you for  
>> clarifying it :-)
>
>
> Hello Shane and Everyone!
> I am so glad you brought this up. It is important, if you are  
> planning to have another SignWriting Symposium in Europe, to be  
> open to BOTH SignWriting and Movement Writing. Perhaps in future  
> Symposiums, a special workshop can be planned specifically on how  
> to write generic movement...Movement Writing...so that the symbols  
> can be applied to signed languages you do not know...
>
> Movement Writing is a blessing because it makes it possible for us  
> to write signed languages we do not know, and then gives a  
> foundation for those who use that signed language, so they can  
> simplify it later...
>
> So it is important to keep openminded about writing detailed  
> writing too...
>
> In fact, just as you need International interpreters at the  
> European Symposiums, you also need a workshop on Movement Writing,  
> because it is like International writing...it crosses over borders  
> and writes the body as it looks in real life, without assuming  
> knowledge of any one signed language...and so it may be the answer  
> to international written sign communication...
>
> Let me tell you my experiences with the Deaf Action Committee here  
> in the US...they worked as our Deaf staff members in the 1990's and  
> we had around 20 Deaf people in and out...around 10 at a time but  
> they fluctuated...and they had a profound influence on the way I  
> write, and all those spelling rules - ha!!
>
> Anyway...
>
> Within one group of Deaf people...let us imagine 20 Deaf people  
> from Northern Ireland...I bet you will find around 7 out of 20, who  
> are interested in writing more detail, and others prefer the  
> simpler writing...and neither is wrong...people deserve a chance to  
> discuss it and use it as they wish...
>
> So I am happy to teach you shorter ways to write, but meanwhile,  
> that is why I am so glad that you have teachers to turn to, in  
> Europe, who know the more international Movement Writing, such as  
> Stefan and Ingvild...so your next Symposium can be enhanced by  
> that...maybe have a workshop on writing specific signed languages,  
> and also a workshop on writing general body movement for  
> transcribing videos etc, of storytelling, the requires gesture and  
> mime...take a look at some of these symbols from Movement  
> Writing...they are used all the time to write videos of  
> storytelling...and will be useful for writing Northern Ireland  
> storytelling too...but the symbols come from Movement Writing...
>
> Meanwhile, look next message, and I will continue to teach you how  
> to write the numbers in Northern Ireland Sign Language...Val ;-)
>
>
>
> <craftsman35.gif>
>
>