Fingers Opening and Closing...Hinge Rotations

[Sutton Valerie]

SignWriting List
September 25, 2006

Anne-Claude Prélaz Girod wrote:
> is it OK to say that this symbol indicates the way the hand-finger  
> joint moves (can be closing or opening.... just depends where it's  
> written....)

Hi Anny and Everyone!

Yes...that sounds good.

The Hinge Motion is definitely like a door opening or closing. Think  
of the Knuckle Joints like the hinge on a door. The fingers  
themselves, like the door itself, remain straight and solid, but the  
hinge on the door opens and closes the fingers. Like the sign for  
Goodbye...the fingers hinge open and close several times...

The difference in Sign Languages is that sometimes the whole hand can  
be on a diagonal, or facing side...in other words...a door is always  
straight up and down to begin with, but hands can be directed in many  
different directions. So sometimes the opening and closing can be  
directed toward the corner of the room, if the hands are directed  
toward the corner of the room to begin with...

So we have 8 possible rotations of the Hinge Motion Symbols...see  
attached...

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