Same 'gloss' , many 'signs'...

[Cherie Wren]

ONe problem is that the English word 'about' may mean
different things, so the different meanings could get
different signs: what are you talking ABOUT, I have
ABOUT $5, Joan looked ABOUT the room...

Different regions use different signs for the same
word ('word' in this instance meaning an individual
concept not 'english gloss')

Some individual concepts have more than one way to
convey them...  So even the concept of 'about' from
"what are you talking ABOUT" has a couple different
ways to sign it...  not really regional variation,
just variation.

And because its Signwriting and an open puddle
available to all comers, you have writing/spelling
variations for each of the above variations.  ::grin::

Does that help any?

cherie



--- Tim Grove <tim_grove at sil.org> wrote:

> I've noticed in looking through the signs in Sign
> Puddle that there are 
> many signs which have the same gloss, but are
> represented in different 
> ways. Looking at the ASL dictionary, for example,
> the gloss 'about' is 
> associated with 5 different SignWriting images. What
> is the origin of 
> these different versions? Do they represent
> different dialects, or are 
> they simply a matter of personal choice? I would
> appreciate any insight 
> which you anyone could give. Thanks!
> 
> Best regards,
> Tim
> 
> 


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