Constructing Hand Symbols

Sun May 31 18:08:30 UTC 2009

When I am writing symbols by hand, I usually follow a few simple train  
of thoughts. The first thing I think of when writing is to write what  
I see. An example of that would be the writing of the simple  
handshapes that we all know. Some examples are:
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: pastedGraphic.tiff
Type: image/tiff
Size: 3454 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/sw-l/attachments/20090531/c45fd6d7/attachment.tiff>
-------------- next part --------------

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: pastedGraphic.tiff
Type: image/tiff
Size: 3574 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/sw-l/attachments/20090531/c45fd6d7/attachment-0001.tiff>
-------------- next part --------------

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: pastedGraphic.tiff
Type: image/tiff
Size: 4506 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/sw-l/attachments/20090531/c45fd6d7/attachment-0002.tiff>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: pastedGraphic.tiff
Type: image/tiff
Size: 2950 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/sw-l/attachments/20090531/c45fd6d7/attachment-0003.tiff>
-------------- next part --------------

The only issue with that is that not everyone sees the same thing as  
Stefan's picture so perfectly shows.
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 12654 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/sw-l/attachments/20090531/c45fd6d7/attachment.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------

So that is why there are "exceptions" that I try to remember when  
writing. These "exceptions" are the following train of thoughts that I  
go through after the general first one. The first one is when writing  
symbols that have fingers that protrude forward, I have noticed that  
they are written protruding to the center. Some example of this would  
be:
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: pastedGraphic.tiff
Type: image/tiff
Size: 3574 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/sw-l/attachments/20090531/c45fd6d7/attachment-0004.tiff>
-------------- next part --------------

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: pastedGraphic.tiff
Type: image/tiff
Size: 3574 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/sw-l/attachments/20090531/c45fd6d7/attachment-0005.tiff>
-------------- next part --------------

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: pastedGraphic.tiff
Type: image/tiff
Size: 3934 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/sw-l/attachments/20090531/c45fd6d7/attachment-0006.tiff>
-------------- next part --------------

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: pastedGraphic.tiff
Type: image/tiff
Size: 3934 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/sw-l/attachments/20090531/c45fd6d7/attachment-0007.tiff>
-------------- next part --------------

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: pastedGraphic.tiff
Type: image/tiff
Size: 4294 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/sw-l/attachments/20090531/c45fd6d7/attachment-0008.tiff>
-------------- next part --------------

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: pastedGraphic.tiff
Type: image/tiff
Size: 4294 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/sw-l/attachments/20090531/c45fd6d7/attachment-0009.tiff>
-------------- next part --------------

Generally I have found that these two train of thoughts work just fine  
when writing symbols. But then there are those times when it doesn't  
work out much like what you mentioned, Stefan. For a long time, I  
couldn't pin point what it was that was making it so hard to write  
these few symbols. Then I found that it was only when the thumb would  
be to the side while the fingers are protruding forward that this  
problem would come up. Why is that? If we write the symbol as it looks  
and writing the protruding fingers to the center, we get a symbol that  
would look like this:
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: pastedGraphic.tiff
Type: image/tiff
Size: 2806 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/sw-l/attachments/20090531/c45fd6d7/attachment-0010.tiff>
-------------- next part --------------

This cannot work because it would be misread by readers to mean that  
the thumb is also protruding forward because it is on the same of the  
palm as the other protruding fingers. Notice how close the previous  
symbol and the following symbols look alike.
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: pastedGraphic.tiff
Type: image/tiff
Size: 2950 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/sw-l/attachments/20090531/c45fd6d7/attachment-0011.tiff>
-------------- next part --------------

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: pastedGraphic.tiff
Type: image/tiff
Size: 3094 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/sw-l/attachments/20090531/c45fd6d7/attachment-0012.tiff>
-------------- next part --------------

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: pastedGraphic.tiff
Type: image/tiff
Size: 2806 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/sw-l/attachments/20090531/c45fd6d7/attachment-0013.tiff>
-------------- next part --------------

So the only option that we have at the moment is to place the thumb on  
the other side of the palm. Yes, we know that it doesn't look like the  
hand in real life anymore, but it has proved to flow with the ease of  
reading. So that is how we get hand symbols that look like this:
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: pastedGraphic.tiff
Type: image/tiff
Size: 3238 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/sw-l/attachments/20090531/c45fd6d7/attachment-0014.tiff>
-------------- next part --------------

So if I were to write the hand that you showed, Stefan, I would go  
through these three thoughts and come up with this:
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: Untitled.gif
Type: image/gif
Size: 132 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/sw-l/attachments/20090531/c45fd6d7/attachment.gif>
-------------- next part --------------
  Or you can use 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: pastedGraphic.tiff
Type: image/tiff
Size: 3858 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/sw-l/attachments/20090531/c45fd6d7/attachment-0015.tiff>
-------------- next part --------------
  if there isn't anything that it would be confused with and you don't  
have to write so exact.
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: pastedGraphic.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 28211 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/sw-l/attachments/20090531/c45fd6d7/attachment-0001.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------

So for the sign that you mentioned, I would think that it would be ok  
to write it like this:
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: pastedGraphic.tiff
Type: image/tiff
Size: 6354 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/sw-l/attachments/20090531/c45fd6d7/attachment-0016.tiff>
-------------- next part --------------

I hope that this help you.

Adam
-------------- next part --------------

____________________________________________

SW-L SignWriting List

Post Message
SW-L at majordomo.valenciacc.edu

List Archives and Help
http://www.signwriting.org/forums/swlist/

Change Email Settings
http://majordomo.valenciacc.edu/mailman/listinfo/sw-l