SignWriting Handwriting and palm facing

[Valerie Sutton]

SignWriting List
January 11, 2011

Hello Charles -
Thank you for this message...

On Jan 11, 2011, at 7:31 PM, Charles Butler wrote:

> No I use the slash for palm facing parallel to the floor in my teaching style.  In one of the lessons he was using the slash across the palms for palm up and away or down and away (parallel to arrows).  I'm teaching handwriting as well as computer writing.

OH. Are you talking about writing hands with the computer, that are at a Diagonal Forward or Back angle? That old symbol used a slash across the symbol...that is true. But I took that out of the official writing system in the ISWA 2008 and ISWA 2010, because no one was using them, and I know that people can construct them if they really want to use them. You can write them by computer, by placing a line across symbols and finding the dot too...see attached diagram:

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As you know, the dot represents the fingers coming towards the body in the back diagonal position -

I personally do not choose to write the Forward-Diagonal and Back-Diagonal hand positions - I think the slash and the slash with the dot were too confusing and the symbol is not used enough to warrant having it an official symbol in the ISWA 2010 - we can write just fine, with choosing either the Parallel to the Floor or Parallel to the Front Wall positions, and then if there is a movement that goes Forward-Diagonal or Back-Diagonal, that we have, that makes it clear ...so I personally would hesitate to put in so much detail...but for research of course, it can be used and it is certainly your choice if you feel it is necessary -




> 
> If I were to use the slash as up and out, I'd put it at the tip of the hand so I could conceivably write palm up and and out, (slash at the tip) and palm up and back (dot on the tip).  If you put a dark circle above the tip, you squeeze the hand, and in the middle it could be a thumb projecting. 
> 
> I will make this into a PDF so you see what I mean from my lessons. It applies to every hand so that now you can show all those 45 degree variants that are sometimes a real challenge to write.  I'm still experimenting.

Wow. That is a great deal of detail. Sounds like you are working very hard, and a very interesting project!

Thanks for sharing with us, Charles -



Val ;-)

Valerie Sutton
SignWriting List moderator
sutton at signwriting.org

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