The WLDC SW Project

Valerie Sutton sutton at SIGNWRITING.ORG
Fri Jan 4 17:25:42 UTC 2008 

SignWriting List
January 4, 2007

Thank you, Chris, for posting this information about the WLDC SW  
Project (World Language Documentation Centre’s SignWriting Project for  
Enhancing Literacy and Education among the Deaf and signing  
communities of the World.)

I asked Chris to post this information to the SignWriting List, since  
SignWriting users should at least know about the project!

The World Language Documentation Centre is an active organization on  
the internet...You can read about them on the web:

World Language Documentation Centre (WLDC)
http://www.thewldc.org/

And it was our honor, for several weeks in 2007, that members of the  
WLDC discussed the use of SignWriting to write the world's signed  
languages...So there were active discussions "behind the scenes" for  
quite some time, and most of the people discussing the topic did not  
know SignWriting personally, so I am glad now, that the SignWriting  
List is aware of this very lofty and ambitious project too...

We are very fortunate that so many people are interested in seeing  
written signed languages spread around the world...

And we all look forward to working together to make this possible...

Several members of the WLDC are located in the UK...some in Wales, for  
example...

This means that writing British Sign Language (BSL) is of interest to  
the project...Dr. Bencie Woll, and others from the UK, have been very  
kind to provide their input...

If videotapes of BSL storytelling, or BSL signs or instructions can be  
found, and if we have permission to write those videotapes in  
SignWriting, please tell us here on the SignWriting List, and I am  
sure we can find someone to do the transcription into SignWriting.  
This will provide new SignWriting users in the UK something to read in  
SignWriting...so literature written in BSL is important to spreading  
the use of SignWriting in the UK.

So thanks once again, Chris, for your writing of the project summary,  
and for all your efforts in getting the support and participation you  
need...If you can continue to ask the SignWriting List for help, that  
will help me too, since the SignWriting List is our central meeting  
place for SignWriting users -

And keep us informed as to your progress too...That will inspire all  
of us to move forward with a multitude of SignWriting projects...

Happy 2008!

Val ;-)

----------------



On Jan 3, 2008, at 2:03 PM, Chris Cox wrote:

> Hi everyone,
>
> Valerie has suggested I explain what this is all about so I shall  
> try to do so as briefly as possible leaving any details to your  
> follow up questions.
>
> First, we are looking for the funding to perform the project  
> properly and not as something people need to do in their spare time  
> (especially since no-one has any J)
>
> Second we all discussed with Val, Steve and others what seemed like  
> a good plan for a major project and, whilst much of this remains as  
> agreed te plan to use an application here in the UK as a start has  
> taken two diversionary steps.
>
> The first is that we have the chance of obtaining good funding for a  
> WLDC SW project which I believe also forces us into a good project  
> objective – the Western Counties of Wales working in collaboration  
> with the South Eastern part of Ireland on aspects of the original  
> project intentions. If we are successful with that bid it will mean  
> that one of the project objectives common to all applications will  
> have been achieved – Michael Everson will be properly funded to do  
> the main work on preparing the SW symbol/character set to be ready  
> for encoding in the ISO Unicode Standard. We are busy obtaining the  
> Partners needed and writing up the project for submission by January  
> 18th – this is the first deadline, I am not sure we are going to  
> make that date but we will try to do so and certainly be ready for  
> the second.
>
> The second involves local activities to engage Signing communities  
> in individual countries to raise the take-up of SW by users and  
> learners of the local SL. The original plan was to track down and  
> enlist BSL users who also had experience of SW to help carry the  
> message to others within the UK. Whilst it is the wrong time of the  
> year for much by way of communication, being a hearing newcomer I  
> have been surprised to find that the current take up of SW for BSL  
> is probably countable on one hand and so far I have only had contact  
> with one – Sandy Fleming, who with Val is the main contributor to  
> the BSL SW sign dictionary. I have also only had one response to a  
> call for interest in participation by local SW communities and  
> support agencies and none for funding purposes. What this means in  
> the UK and any other country where take up has notyet begun to take  
> off, that the project has to start a bit further back up the track.  
> I.e. we need to get funding just to recruit the groups in the first  
> place who I am now hoping will learn about SW and how to use it for  
> communicating in BSL and once they are a little way down the track  
> begin to be a good source for additions to the BSL dictionary. It  
> will be a start for the spread of the good news (Can I also thank  
> the people who wrote the letters of recommendation and of course Val  
> for putting them out – I think this is very timely for our hopes for  
> funding ).
>
> Anyway I now add the shortest description of our project intentions  
> for your information
>
> Title - The World Language Documentation Centre’s SignWriting  
> Project for Enhancing Literacy and Education among the Deaf and  
> signing communities of the World (or WLDC SW Project)
>
> The overall project aims to achieve at least the following goals
>
> 1)      To contribute significantly towards universal capability of  
> signing communities of the world to read, write and participate in  
> everyday literary life in their own first language by
>
> a)      recruiting country based schools, colleges, universities and  
> other agencies providing Deaf and Hard of Hearing facilities to  
> bring together groups of local users of the local SL, preferably  
> including parents, children, teachers and where appropriate, carers  
> to work together in learning about and how to read and write their  
> local SL using the SW  system with help from the Center for Sutton  
> Movement Writing (CSMW).
> It is expected that these groups will also be a good source for  
> additions to the local SL Sign word dictionary
>
> b)      raising public awareness and active participation in the  
> WLDC SW Project through a country based WLDC SW Sign-Word Appeal  
> whereby donors “buy” a personalised “word” of their choice in SW  
> script and donor customised details, eg the word “love” in ASL gives  
> the SW sign
> <image001.gif>
>
> c)      encoding the SW script (sgnw) in a Character Set of the  
> Unicode Standard
>
> d)      developing innovative applications for integration of sign  
> language text into mainstream multimedia, multimodal, multi- 
> lingual,mobile, multi-channel and multi-inclusionary communication  
> (7Ms)
>
> e)      identification of recognised Sign Language variants used in  
> each country for entry to the ISO 639-6 database for language  
> varieties as well as any resulting need for aditional symbols/ 
> characters
>
> f)       dissemination of information to industry regarding the Deaf  
> and Hard of Hearing community needs and provision in relation to SW.  
> Links will be established, in particular with the translation and  
> software industries, to be ready for the provision of professional  
> translation and localization services.
>
> 2)      To significantly raise public understanding of the potential  
> for benefits-for-all when literary capability of the Deaf and other  
> signing communities becomes widespread among that community and  
> translatable into other languages and where necessary supporting  
> campaigns for legal or other recognition of the country based sign  
> languages in  the same way as the hearing language or languages of  
> the country.
>
> The WLDC SW Project
>
> This is to be a “meta-project” consisting of
>
> o        Workpackages to be performed for common application. These  
> WPs are performed by the WLDC for overall WLDC SW project purposes  
> and in some cases wider benefit.
>
> o        Workpackages to be performed by a National or Regional Team  
> under WLDC auspices and where requested, with WLDC assistance. This  
> recognises the likelihood of local country or regional variation  
> having to be catered for and local country or regional expertise  
> being more likely to be effective and efficient in achieving the WP  
> goals.
>
> Any comment and certainly experiential advice or correction of  
> misapprehension welcomed.
>
> Best regards
>
> Chris
>
>
>
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