finger direction matters

[Ingvild Roald]

In the MOVEMENT sign, both hands are turned the same way. Is that correct? Do the hands turn a little sideways when they move? Or should they both be pointed towards center and just move sideways? If you do not know the actual sign language, you do not know how to read this (but then, this will be the case when signwriting is more used and standards for each sign language are stabilising themselves ... the rules will differ somewhat according to the sign languages).

Ingvild 




> Date: Thu, 1 Jul 2010 21:21:41 -0700
> From: sutton at SIGNWRITING.ORG
> Subject: finger direction matters
> To: SW-L at LISTSERV.VALENCIACC.EDU
> 
> SignWriting List
> July 1st, 2010
> 
> I would also like to point out that if one looks at documents written around the world, that writers tend to follow the direction of the fingers. Here is an example. I have seen this handshape written both ways, and I feel both are readable, because when the handshape is parallel to the floor, there is the small space or break at the fingers to tell us that, and the black back of the hand tells us that we are viewing the back of the hand parallel to the floor. So either handshape in the attached diagram can be read. But the writing of the fingers directed down seems logical and the most visual for me...and I tend to write it that way. Like in the sign for MOVEMENT attached.  Finger direction is important for reading signs quickly because meaning is held in the finger direction...so writing it as close to the way it looks in real life is important:
> 
 		 	   		  
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