Research into Digital Representations of Sign Language

Tue Oct 11 00:43:03 UTC 2005

Hi Val,

thank you for all the links, I shall be sitting with a big mug of coffee working
through them all in the morning, (its 1:30am in the UK so will be off to bed in
a bit)

I have been reading about SignWriting and it is a fascinating system, I have to
admit when looking at the notations, even without prior knowledge of the system
I can work most of them out, the visual connection is very strong and I can see
how this can translate well with the signing community.  People have spoken very
highly of it, and I believe it can be used in many places here in the UK
(further research suggestions for my work!)

I will probably write again in the morning, after I absorb some signwriting
information!

take care

Saduf

Quoting Valerie Sutton <sutton at signwriting.org>:

> SignWriting List
> October 10, 2005
> 
> On Oct 10, 2005, at 3:31 PM, Saduf Naqvi wrote:
> > Don't worry I didn't take offence, I completely understand your  
> > concern, and
> > welcome your feedback.
> >
> 
> Hello Stuart, Saduf and Everyone -
> No problems, Stuart...There are no worries from me either...I agree  
> that it is easy to mis-use the terms American Sign Language, or  
> British Sign Language, when those two terms do not just mean the  
> signs used within the US, Canada and Great Britain, but rather refer  
> to the grammars of those languages as well...The terms should be used  
> to refer to the native signed languages of the area, and not just  
> glossing email!!  But the glosses of individual signs, even though  
> they may not produce a true ASL or BSL, still have stimulated some  
> people to learn some SignWriting symbols...so it has some value...and  
> I know that in the future, we will have email that can be typed  
> directly in SignWriting symbols, just like I am typing this English  
> with symbols directly for this email message...but even then, not  
> every typist will know the good grammar of BSL...that will take time  
> to learn how to type in the grammar of naturally-evolved BSL...
> 
> So Saduf...I have not been reading every email because I just got  
> back from an appointment but in summary, before the advent of  
> computers, we had a group of Deaf people here in California where I  
> live, who worked with me, and they were mostly native ASL signers, or  
> at least grew up in residential Deaf schools so their signing was  
> their first mode of communication...and we wrote signs by hand  
> because there were no computers and we had a real writing system  
> directly in the movements of signed languages, without using any  
> English glosses or any spoken language at all...
> 
> And in Spain, they have a novel written in Spanish Sign Language in  
> SignWriting without any spoken language at all in the entire book, so  
> I believe deeply that we have a true writing system, even if it is  
> used differently in different places around the world...SignWriting  
> is used in Germany to teach both signs and spoken German with  
> success, and it is used in Brazil too, and in France, Belgium,  
> Nicaragua, Norway...oh...gosh...so many wonderful places...there is  
> no way I can tell you all the projects in one message...
> 
> Recently I had a great phone conversation with Pastor Dettloff from  
> the Deaf Church in Michigan, where they use SignWriitng in their  
> Bible Study...and they LOVE SignPuddle because different church  
> members can add their own signs to the dictionary online...and they  
> have some people in their church who really read  
> SignWriting...without it they could not read the Bible passages  
> apparently, so that is nice to know the tool is useful....
> 
> Here are some of the SignPuddles online:
> 
> 39 SignPuddle Dictionaries
> http://signbank.org/signpuddle
> 
> 1. American Sign Language
> http://signbank.org/signpuddle/sgn-US
> 
> 2. Arabic-Nations Sign Languages
> http://signbank.org/signpuddle/sgn-AE
> 
> 3. Australian Sign Language
> http://signbank.org/signpuddle/sgn-AU
> 
> 4. Brazilian Sign Language
> http://signbank.org/signpuddle/sgn-BR
> 
> 5. British Sign Language
> http://signbank.org/signpuddle/sgn-GB
> 
> 6. Catalonian Sign Language
> http://signbank.org/signpuddle/sgn-ES-ct
> 
> 7. Colombian Sign Language
> http://signbank.org/signpuddle/sgn-CO
> 
> 8. Czech Sign Language
> http://signbank.org/signpuddle/sgn-CZ
> 
> 9. Danish Sign Language
> http://signbank.org/signpuddle/sgn-DK
> 
> 10. Ethiopian Sign Language
> http://signbank.org/signpuddle/sgn-ET
> 
> 11. Finnish Sign Language
> http://signbank.org/signpuddle/sgn-FI
> 
> 12. Flemish Sign Language
> http://signbank.org/signpuddle/sgn-BE-nl
> 
> 13. French Sign Language
> http://signbank.org/signpuddle/sgn-FR
> 
> 14. French-Swiss Sign Language
> http://signbank.org/signpuddle/sgn-CH-fr
> 
> 15. German Sign Language
> http://signbank.org/signpuddle/sgn-DE
> 
> 16. German-Swiss Sign Language
> http://signbank.org/signpuddle/sgn-CH-de
> 
> 17. Greek Sign Language
> http://signbank.org/signpuddle/sgn-GR
> 
> 18. International Signs
> http://signbank.org/signpuddle/sgn-WO
> 
> 19. Irish Sign Language
> http://signbank.org/signpuddle/sgn-IE
> 
> 20. Italian Sign Language
> http://signbank.org/signpuddle/sgn-IT
> 
> 21. Italian-Swiss Sign Language
> http://signbank.org/signpuddle/sgn-CH-it
> 
> 22. Japanese Sign Language
> http://signbank.org/signpuddle/sgn-JP
> 
> 23. Malaysian Sign Languages
> http://signbank.org/signpuddle/sgn-MY
> 
> 24. Maltese Sign Language
> http://signbank.org/signpuddle/sgn-MT
> 
> 25. Mexican Sign Language
> http://signbank.org/signpuddle/sgn-MX
> 
> 26. Netherlands Sign Language
> http://signbank.org/signpuddle/sgn-NL
> 
> 27. Nicaraguan Sign Language
> http://signbank.org/signpuddle/sgn-NI
> 
> 28. Nigerian Sign Language
> http://signbank.org/signpuddle/sgn-NG
> 
> 29. Northern Ireland Sign Language
> http://signbank.org/signpuddle/sgn-NorthernIreland
> 
> 30. Norwegian Sign Language
> http://signbank.org/signpuddle/sgn-NO
> 
> 31. Philippine Sign Language
> http://signbank.org/signpuddle/sgn-PH
> 
> 32. Polish Sign Language
> http://signbank.org/signpuddle/sgn-PL
> 
> 33. Portuguese Sign Language
> http://signbank.org/signpuddle/sgn-PT
> 
> 34. Quebec Sign Language
> http://signbank.org/signpuddle/sgn-CA-fr
> 
> 35. Signuno-Esperanto Sign Language
> http://signbank.org/signpuddle/sgn-EO
> 
> 36. Spanish Sign Language
> http://signbank.org/signpuddle/sgn-ES
> 
> 37. Swedish Sign Language
> http://signbank.org/signpuddle/sgn-SE
> 
> 38. Taiwan Sign Language
> http://signbank.org/signpuddle/sgn-TW
> 
> 39. Walloon Sign Language
> http://signbank.org/signpuddle/sgn-BE-fr
> 
> 
> Instruction
> 
> How to Use SignMaker
> http://signbank.org/signpuddle/help
> 
> How to Use SignPuddle
> http://www.signwriting.org/archive/docs3/
> sw0226-SignPuddle-May2005.pdf
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 

-- 
Miss Saduf Naqvi,
S.Naqvi at gold.ac.uk
Research Student,
Goldsmiths College - University of London,
New Cross,
London,
SE14 6NW,
020-7919-7462