ANNOUNCING: International SignWriting Alphabet 2008

[Valerie Sutton]

SignWriting List
September 21, 2008

Hello Maria!
You are the first to give us real feedback, while using the ISWA.  
Thanks for sharing with us.

I am happy you are enjoying the new symbols...there are a lot more  
curves and sizes to choose from, in the Movement Symbols, and the  
Facial Expressions have much more flexibility. Later I will teach  
everyone some new tricks with placing more symbols inside the Facial  
Circle...there are more opportunities now, to expand the amount of  
symbols we can fit into a face...very much more useful...and there are  
now new symbols that are used for writing role playing and role  
shifting, that really enhances writing dialogues, and storytelling...

Yes...back in 1974 I chose to make Sutton Movement Writing my life's  
work, and by 1981 I specifically chose to make SignWriting the most  
important part of Movement Writing...that was when we started  
publishing the SignWriter Newspaper...a tabloid size 20 page newspaper  
written in ASL, published quarterly...but we didn't have personal  
computers back then...what we needed was the ISWA 2008 and SignPuddle  
to make it possible...so now a world of publishing in written Sign  
Language is before us, thanks to these new developments...

Once I finish adding the ISWA symbols into SignBank software, which is  
a separate computer program that we use for publishing dictionaries,  
and once Steve's new SignPuddle 2.0 is released later this year, we  
will be ready to start publishing encyclopedias and other larger books  
in written Sign Languages...I think it is time for us to publish  
novels and big volumes of religious literature in several Sign  
Languages...as the shelves fill with literature there will be no  
denying that Sign Languages are written languages...

God bless you too, Maria -

We look forward to reading your literture in Maltese Sign Language!

Val ;-)

-----------




On Sep 21, 2008, at 5:07 PM, MARIA AZZOPARDI wrote:

> Hi Valerie,
>
> This is so true! It is very comfortable to use (symbols are even more
> well-organised now), and the more I use it, the more I discover how  
> many
> wonderful symbols have been added to it.
>
> Before I used to make-do with some movement symbols which although  
> were
> ok, were not exact. Now suddenly they are ALL there! I'm enjoying
> signwriting at the moment because I keep finding the 'exact' movement
> arrows :)
>
> Valerie, with  your 35 years of experience learning you must have  
> had the
> patience of Job! Besides ISWA 2008 - which of course is a very big
> accomplishment - your perseverence is a fundamental life lesson for  
> all of
> us faced with any task, commitment etc etc :))
>
> I'm very happy for you! :))
> God bless you,
>
> Maria
>
>
>> SignWriting List
>> September 21, 2008
>>
>> Hello Maria, and also Ingvild and Hasna from two previous messages...
>>
>> Thank you for your congratulations...It means a lot to me. The
>> International SignWriting Alphabet is the best symbolset we have ever
>> had, based on 35 years of experience learning what was needed...I was
>> telling Steve the other day, that the ISWA 2008 is "what SignWriting
>> always should have been"...The ISWA 2008 feels comfortable to use, as
>> if it was always there waiting for us to use it!
>>
>> ...but it just took 35 years to learn what was needed...through
>> feedback and suggestions and studying the writing from signwriters
>> around the world...
>>
>> So I worked on the ISWA symbols, improving them and adding to them,
>> for over two years, based on the last IMWA symbolset we were using...
>>
>> And you are correct, Maria...I really worked hard at making the
>> movement arrows just get longer, rather than change in width...There
>> are basically two sizes...a small arrow and a larger one, and once  
>> you
>> start using the larger one, if you want even larger, you just get a
>> longer one without the width of the arrow changing...that was months
>> of work on my part, trying to standardize that...
>>
>> And yes...the Facial Circles are now standardized in size. The old
>> IMWA symbolset had some facial circles that were not the exact same
>> size, so some of them did not fit exactly on top of each  
>> other....well
>> that problem got fixed in the ISWA....so that is why you used to
>> struggle doing that in the old IMWA. so yes...it is now easier to put
>> heads on top of each other ...you may have to adjust some of those
>> from your old writing because I fixed that problem now...
>>
>> This was an enormous amount of work, you are right. I designed the
>> symbols of the ISWA 2008, but without Steve Slevinski developing the
>> software for us to use it in, we would have a much harder time using
>> it, and I would not have been able to test it the way I did without
>> Steve's software, and because of Steve's outstanding conversion
>> software, we were able to automatically convert from the last version
>> of the IMWA to the new ISWA without a hitch...it was a flawless
>> conversion...so it is the Slevinski-Sutton collaboration that is
>> making this possible.
>>
>> In the ISWA 2008 Reference Manual, I wrote a brief history of
>> SignWriting software development, and I also dedicated the ISWA 2008
>> to Steve Slevinski...you might want to read it:
>>
>> Go to this web page and click on number 1:
>>
>> ISWA 2008 Documents
>> http://www.movementwriting.org/symbolbank/ISWA/
>>
>> And there is still more to do now...Now that the ISWA is posted in
>> SymbolBank and in SignPuddle 1.5, I now have to update SignBank
>> software with the new symbols, and Steve is working on updating the
>> PocketPuddles and other software...
>>
>> So the work goes on!
>>
>> Once again thank you for writing your message, Maria...I am happy to
>> know you are enjoying the new symbols -
>>
>> Val ;-)
>>
>> ------------
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Sep 21, 2008, at 4:54 AM, MARIA AZZOPARDI wrote:
>>
>>> Hi Valerie and Steve,
>>>
>>> I've started using the new ISWA in Puddle - it really has improved!
>>> Well
>>> done! There is a much wider choice of movement arrows - and I love
>>> the way
>>> when you increase the size of the UP/DOWN arrow, the arrow doesn't
>>> just
>>> become wider and bigger all over, but has the same width and just
>>> increases in length! I think that's very neat :))
>>>
>>> Also is it my immagination, or do the heads fit easily on to one
>>> another?
>>> I used to struggle a little to overlap two head symbols, trying to
>>> move
>>> them onto each other until they become just one head symbol, but now
>>> they
>>> seem to fit onto each other much easily!
>>>
>>> Wow I'm just beginning to realise the amount of work you must have  
>>> put
>>> into this project!
>>>
>>> Thank you very much :))
>>>
>>> Maria
>>>
>>>
>>>> This is great,
>>>>
>>>> I loook forward to begin working with it
>>>>
>>>> (Too busy just now, but in a couple of weeks ...)
>>>>
>>>> Thank you for all your great effort,
>>>>
>>>> Ingvild
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> From: sutton at signwriting.org
>>>> To: sw-l at majordomo.valenciacc.edu
>>>> Date: Fri, 19 Sep 2008 13:17:28 -0700
>>>> Subject: [sw-l] ANNOUNCING: International SignWriting Alphabet 2008
>>>>
>>>> SignWriting List
>>>> September 19, 2008
>>>>
>>>> Dear SignWriting List:
>>>>
>>>> Although we have much work ahead, I am happy to announce the  
>>>> Release
>>>> Candidate 1 for the International SignWriting Alphabet (ISWA 2008).
>>>> Yesterday, September 18th, we installed the ISWA 2008 into
>>>> SignPuddle 1.5,
>>>> without any problems. The conversion from the old IMWA to the new
>>>> ISWA was
>>>> automatic and flawless. THANK YOU, to Steve Slevinski, for his
>>>> outstanding
>>>> conversion software.
>>>> (By the way, the problem that Stefan pointed out was related to
>>>> something
>>>> else entirely from long ago, and was not connected to the ISWA
>>>> conversion
>>>> process which Steve Slevinski designed.)
>>>> Now that you all can use the ISWA 2008 in SignPuddle 1.5, we will
>>>> have a
>>>> formal review of the ISWA 2008 from September 20, 2008 through
>>>> October 20,
>>>> 2008.
>>>> After the review, we will decide if additional changes are needed
>>>> or if
>>>> the ISWA 2008 is final and complete.
>>>> Once the ISWA 2008 is finalized after October 20, 2008, no further
>>>> changes
>>>> will be made to the ISWA 2008 symbolset.
>>>> In the future, there may be an ISWA 2010 or an ISWA 2012, but the
>>>> ISWA
>>>> 2008 symbolset will remain the same after October 20th.
>>>>
>>>> So please enjoy testing and using the ISWA 2008 in SignPuddle. If
>>>> you have
>>>> any suggestions, please tell us in the next month, here on the
>>>> SignWriting
>>>> List.
>>>> We always look forward to hearing from you!
>>>> More information is coming next message...
>>>>
>>>> Val ;-)
>>>>
>>>> Valerie SuttonSutton at SignWriting.org
>>>> 1. SignWritingRead & Write Sign Languageshttp://www.SignWriting.org
>>>> 2. SignPuddleCreate SignWriting Documents
>>>> Onlinehttp://www.SignBank.org/signpuddle
>>>> 3. SignBankSignWriting Desktop Databaseshttp://www.SignBank.org
>>>> 4. SignWriting ListTechnical Support: Ask questions to the List
>>>> http://www.SignWriting.org/forums/swlist
>>>> 5. SignWriting Literature ProjectWriting Literature in Sign
>>>> Languageshttp://www.SignWriting.org/literature
>>>> Deaf Action Committee For SignWritingCenter For Sutton Movement
>>>> Writingan
>>>> educational nonprofit organizationP.O. Box 517, La Jolla, CA,  
>>>> 92038,
>>>> USAtel 858-456-0098   fax 858-456-0020Skype Name: valeriesuttonD- 
>>>> Link
>>>> Videophone:  66.27.57.178
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> ____________________________________________
>>>>
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>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>
>>
>>
>>
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