AW: Writing sign sentences in 5 possible directions

[Charles Butler]

In terms of directionality and lanes, I have a query.  Often in transcribing 
tapes, the head nods or the eyes change direction at a particular point before 
or after a sign.  It would be easier for me to treat them as punctuation than 
try to put them in the same box.  In that case, I almost want to put them, 
alone, in the left lane, as punctuation, and be able to put the sign in the 
middle lane parallel to the face change.  Same thing happens with hands that are 
held through a sign.  If I try to put them in a particular place in the box, 
they are moved to the right or the left rather than being pinned down to the 
exact same space in each sign I create.  If it's a grid, I want it to be a grid 
that I can actually say (at point 150,150) so that the hand that is held is 
where it is like, holding a flat hand vertical and pointing all around it.  The 
flat hand sits there and the pointer hand moves all over.  It's multiple signs 
in one sense, or one sign in a writing since.

Any ideas. 



________________________________
From: Stefan Wöhrmann <stefanwoehrmann at GEBAERDENSCHRIFT.DE>
To: SW-L at LISTSERV.VALENCIACC.EDU
Sent: Thu, October 7, 2010 2:50:22 PM
Subject: AW: Writing sign sentences in 5 possible directions

 
 
 
 
-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
Von: SignWriting List :  Read and Write Sign Languages  
[mailto:SW-L at LISTSERV.VALENCIACC.EDU] Im Auftrag von Valerie Sutton
Gesendet: Donnerstag, 7. Oktober 2010 20:29
An: SW-L at LISTSERV.VALENCIACC.EDU
Betreff: Writing sign sentences in 5 possible directions
 
SignWriting List
October 7, 2010
 
Hi Steve and Stefan!
Then let's add a feature someday that makes writing in 5 directions possible: 
vertical, horizontal right-to-left, horizontal-left-to-right, 
down-diagonal-right and down-diagonal-left. The horizontal, if being written 
along side Arabic, might want to go from right to left as well as left to right 
for western spoken languages...
 
As you can see by the attached screen capture, I included Punctuation Symbols 
for writing in all 5 directions in the ISWA 2008 and 2010. Why? Because I met 
one Deaf poet who wanted to write poetry in a diagonal before and needed the 
Punctuation in a diagonal, and another wrote a poem in a circle ;-)
 
And portions of the Koran are being written now in Saudi Arabia, so I suppose in 
time it will be nice to have a horizontal right to left....
 
So flexibility of writing direction, for headers in layouts, for creative art 
projects and poetry, and for teaching different languages at the same time, will 
all have the need for a choice...but we will default to writing vertically since 
that is what Deaf people have requested of us, and when writing sign language, 
without any comparison to any other language, it gives us the most accurate 
grammar features that no other direction can give us, because of the 3 
Lanes...those are invaluable...
 
A lot to program and so many different worlds to please...;-))
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