Summary of writing steps for SignWriting

[Ingvild Roald]

Scandivian sign linguists seem to prefer 'polysynthetical' verbs. But still, 
the hand act as a classifier, as I understand this. So an index finger 
pointing upwards and moving towards me (the signer) means 'something high 
and thin approacing' and may be a person, but the sign may also be me 
walking into a lamp post ...

Ingvild





>From: "Stuart Thiessen" <sw at PASSITONSERVICES.ORG>
>Reply-To: sw-l at majordomo.valenciacc.edu
>To: sw-l at majordomo.valenciacc.edu
>Subject: Re: [sw-l] Summary of writing steps for SignWriting
>Date: Fri, 07 Oct 2005 08:55:31 -0500
>
>Good point. I agree with your distinction about writing lexical items and 
>writing a sign in discourse. Perhaps that means I should expand #1?
>
>1. Identify the sign's anchor. For lexical items, it may mean the neutral 
>space in front of the body or it could be some location on or near the 
>body. In some cases, body shifts or other non-manual markers may shift the 
>"anchor" of the sign to a different location than its lexical "anchor" 
>during a discourse. Further, signs whose "anchors" have spatial meaning 
>(such as index pronouns or polycomponential verbs) may vary widely where 
>their "anchor" is located depending on its use in a sentence.
>
>(Side Note: I learned that some linguists prefer the term "polycomponential 
>verbs" instead of "classifiers". I think their reasoning makes sense when 
>you consider the original linguistic meaning for "classifier".  So that is 
>why I used that term above.)
>
>Does this take us closer to a helpful description?
>
>Thanks,
>
>Stuart
>
>On Oct 7, 2005, at 4:29, Ingvild Roald wrote:
>
>>Very commendable, Stuart
>>
>>Personally, I would say that a sign seen in context is often different 
>>from the sign given as a lexical item. But even lexil items may be 
>>articulated to the side of the body, or high up or down, even if it is not 
>>in contact with the body.
>>
>>For writing fluent texts, location becomes very important. So a lexical 
>>item that is in neutral space may have to be written far off to the left, 
>>or somewhere else, depending.
>>
>>Thus I think that our first step is to decide wether what we see is part 
>>of a signed meaning, or if it is a sigel sign that we can enter as a 
>>lexical item. If it is part of a signed meaning, we have to decide wether 
>>the sign has been modified because of the context, or if it is in the 
>>lexical form.
>>
>>
>>Ingvild
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>>From: "Stuart Thiessen" <sw at PASSITONSERVICES.ORG>
>>>Reply-To: sw-l at majordomo.valenciacc.edu
>>>To: sw-l at majordomo.valenciacc.edu
>>>Subject: [sw-l] Summary of writing steps for SignWriting
>>>Date: Fri, 07 Oct 2005 00:46:24 -0500
>>>
>>>I was just looking for a way to describe in basic, simple terms how we 
>>>move from a sign we see to a sign we write. Any feedback on these steps 
>>>as a way to describe this process? It would be much appreciated. I came 
>>>up with these steps. I am not sure about the timing of #6, but I just put 
>>>it there for now. I wanted to think of a way to help people visualize the 
>>>process. This is what I catch myself doing. What about you all?
>>>
>>>1. Identify the sign’s “anchor.” This could be neutral space in front of 
>>>the body or it could be some location on the body.
>>>2. If hands are involved (we should never assume always), we need to 
>>>identify the handshape(s) and orientation(s) and select the corresponding 
>>>symbol(s), placing the symbol(s) in 2D relationship to the anchor.
>>>3. If the hand(s) contact the body or each other, we need to select the 
>>>appropriate contact symbol to represent the contact.
>>>4. Unless the sign is stationary or only consisting of simple contact, we 
>>>now look to identify the movement of the hand(s) and select the 
>>>appropriate movement symbol(s).
>>>5. If the hand(s) change to another handshape(s) during the movement, we 
>>>select those handshape(s) and note their location(s).
>>>6. Finally, we note any particular dynamics (fast, slow, tense, etc.) and 
>>>any non-manual markers that are essential to the sign.
>>>
>>>Thanks,
>>>
>>>Stuart
>>>
>>>
>>>
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