QUESTION...Palm facing fingers pointing down

[Valerie Sutton]

SignWriting List
December 7, 2010

Hello Andre and Charles and everyone -

The discussion is a good one, and Charles is right that our system has all the symbols we need to communicate what we need to communicate...

Let me explain...

1. When the thumb-line is on the white side of the symbol (the palm area) it means the thumb is extending FORWARD:

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2. When the thumb-line is on the black side of the symbol (back of hand area) it means the thumb is extending SIDE:


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3. That is the way we write thumb forward and thumb side, even if it looks a little strange at times, it is a rule and we learn it and accept it.


4. There is one other solution, if the Thumb-Side bothers you. You can construct your own handshape, by taking the plain Flat Hand, and placing a hollow circle on the center of it, to show the thumb projecting towards the reader...That can we read by people, because it follows the rule that individual fingers projecting towards or away from us can be written with dots, but it is not a standard symbol in the ISWA 2010 - you will have to construct it. See below I constructed it in SignPuddle:

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Using the dot is not necessary however, because people memorize that the thumb line on the dark side of the palm facing, means the thumb side -

So your pictures have NOTHING to do with right or left hands from my point of view - the answer is, wherever the palm is facing - place the white part of the symbol in that direction. Then place the thumb line on the black side of the symbol no matter what, if the thumb is to the side....or use a dot if that would help you -

See attached...I have placed my answers in your question marks -

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