Greetings from Egypt!

Thu Apr 19 11:25:18 UTC 2012

Hello Val!
Thanks for referring me to the research and the Saudi Arabian SignPuddle.
 I'm sure it will be an interesting comparison in terms of signs and SW
conventions.  I'll try to add an English, Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), and
Egyptian Arabic gloss for each sign, if available.

An important thing to keep in mind about Arabic: "Arabic" is an umbrella
term for many different stratified and overlapping spoken languages.  (This
is an oversimplification; we can discuss in more depth later.)  Many native
speakers are not able to actively distinguish features of their spoken
variety and other varieties, including the MSA used in literature.  The
same appears to hold true for perceptions of the distinction between
Egyptian Sign and what I've seen in Egypt referred to as simply "Arabic
Sign."  Hopefully, some of the data collection I'm trying to do will shed
more light on this subject from a Sign perspective.

Thanks again, and keep on dancing!
-Ryan

On Thu, Apr 19, 2012 at 5:32 AM, Valerie Sutton <sutton at signwriting.org>wrote:

> SignWriting List
> April 18, 2012
>
> Hello Ryan!
> Thank you for your correspondence today, and for adding signs to the
> Egyptian SignPuddle Dictionary, which has been close to empty for several
> years, waiting for someone to take interest in writing Egyptian Sign
> Language…
>
>
> Egyptian SignPuddle
> http://www.signbank.org/signpuddle2.0/index.php?ui=1&sgn=84
>
>
> So it was only natural for me, when I saw your message and some of the
> signs you have written in SignPuddle, that I danced around my office -
> because I did! Good news is a good reason to dance…smile...
>
> We will benefit from learning about Arabic, linguistics, Egypt and
> Egyptian Sign Language, so feel free to inform us… It sounds like you are
> doing interesting research and we look forward to learning more about it -
>
> Have you read some of Dr. Mohamed AbuShaira's research on SignWriting in
> Deaf Education in Jordan and Saudi Arabia? It is in Arabic...
>
> http://www.signwriting.org/arabia/
>
> Have you seen the Saudi Arabian SignPuddle in Arabic?
>
> Saudi Arabian SignPuddle
> http://www.signbank.org/signpuddle2.0/index.php?ui=1&sgn=91
>
> Several countries will benefit from an Arabic User Interface in
> SignPuddle, so thank you for offering to help with that -
>
> Val ;-)
>
> ---------
>
>
>
>
>
> On Apr 18, 2012, at 4:20 PM, Ryan Fan wrote:
>
> Hi all,
> My name's Ryan, and I'm trying to start work on the Egyptian SignPuddle,
> slowly transferring signs from my notebook onto the SignPuddle database.
>  In
> truth, I'm rather new to SignWriting, and how my studies have led me to
> this
> juncture is a bit of a long story.
>
> In short, I have limited experience with ASL from grade school hymns and a
> high school ASL club many years ago.  My undergraduate work focused on
> mathematics and linguistics, as well as Arabic.  I've been living in Egypt
> for the
> past couple years, studying Arabic while searching for a place to learn
> Egyptian
> Sign Language.  The bureaucracy here is something of a tortuous and
> torturous
> labyrinth, especially for foreigners, and I only managed to start
> attending
> weekly Egyptian Sign classes this Spring, mere months before my departure
> to
> start a graduate program in Arabic Linguistics back in the US.  I hope to
> return
> relatively frequently (in intervals of ~6-12 months) for documentation and
> research on both spoken Egyptian Arabic and Egyptian Sign.
>
> Reading over Val's warm/dancing welcome to my inquiry and seeing some of
> the
> archived emails, I'm grateful to be part of such a supportive and
> inquisitive
> community!  Please feel free to contact me via email should you feel the
> strong
> and sudden urge to discuss anything pertaining to Arabic, linguistics,
> Egypt,
> signing, any combination of those, or anything else, really.  Thanks!
> -Ryan
>
>
> ------
>
>
>
>
> Val ;-)
>
> Valerie Sutton
> SignWriting List moderator
> sutton at signwriting.org
>
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