Bebian's sign-writing

[Valerie Sutton]

SignWriting List
June 3, 2006

Shane Gilchrist O hEorpa from Northern Ireland wrote:
> Was reading Jonathan Ree's book - it turned out Bebian (at the  
> Paris School during Clerc's times) did invent sign writing which is  
> really amazing - did you know about that? How old is the Sutton  
> Sign Wrting System now?  Shane


Hello Shane and Everyone!
Yes...Bebian's system was not named SignWriting specifically....but  
it was certainly a system for writing signs....yes...It only makes  
sense, that signers would want to write their language...I am  
surprised it did not get established generations ago...I think the  
main reason was that sadly Europe went oral after that, I believe...I  
am not an expert on deaf education in Europe but that is probably the  
reason why...

Sutton SignWriting has quite a different history. I did not invent  
SignWriting because I knew Sign Language. It was actually based on  
Sutton DanceWriting, before I even realized the history of deafness,  
sign languages, and writing systems...

Read the history of SignWriting on the web...

SignWriting History Articles
http://www.SignWriting.org/library/history

The first SignWriting document was in Copenhagen in 1974. So  
SignWriting is 32 years old....It looked really different then...

This was my first attempt at writing my first Sign-Sentence in Danish  
Sign Language, based on a videotape of Deaf people...the stick figure  
faced the reader, like on a video...it was Receptive writing...later  
Deaf people asked us to switch to Expressive...



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So it changed a lot once Deaf people got involved in the  
1980's...that is important to understand that in 1974 it was just a  
beginning and not the improved writing system we have today...

Read the history!!