For Marquita - ASL Thesis project using SignWriting

[Valerie Sutton]

SignWriting List
April 7, 2013

Hello Marquita!
Actually your message below helped me the most, because you say at the end that you are in software development - That I did not realize from your first introduction - I thought you were perhaps getting your MA in Deaf Studies and perhaps were skilled in ASL and wanted to do a full video transcription - now I understand it is only one sentence (which can easily be written in SignWriting in SignPuddle right now, on the web, with or without Steve's new SW Thin Viewer) …there are many opportunities for you - and we will help you write the sentence -
The real issue is to establish what the sentence is, in English, and then you need to find an ASL signer to make the video for you -

Once the ASL video exists, it can be transcribed and written on the web inside SignPuddle right now, or of course you are welcome to use the SignWriting Thin Viewer, basing it on what is written in SignPuddle I assume, if I have understood the SignWriting Thin Viewer properly -

SignPuddle is our way of writing SignWriting sentences and literature, as you have already seen I am sure -

So your biggest job right now, is to determine the sentence and find the ASL signer and make the video - without the video we have nothing to write from -

Steve is still developing the web plugins - I do not know if he can meet your schedule - ha! But right now you can use SignPuddle as your web site demonstration and it is on the web - so why do you need the plugins? I create web sites with SignPuddle documents all the time…so first get your video done and let's start writing your sentence in ASL in SignPuddle - then from there we can format it many different ways in SignPuddle, and we can either make it an SVG-graphic and paste the graphic into web sites without the SW Thin Viewer if it is not ready yet, or you can use the Thin Viewer if it is ready - but I make web pages in HTML using simple formatting from SignPuddle and turn the SignWriting columns into graphics for the layout on the web - since you have a time constraint, that would be the easiest way to go -

Here is an example of one of my web documents that was done in HTML - I wrote the SignWriting in SignPuddle, then pushed the ColumnMaker button in SignPuddle to format it and then brought the SignWriting into the HTML page as a graphic - that is the old fashioned way to do it…

Snow White Web Page outside of SignPuddle
http://www.signwriting.org/library/children/SnowWhite/SnowWhite03.html

Now we have better looking graphics with SVG in SignPuddle, so yours will look very cool and better than my document above for Snow White … I was using the old PNGs that are now becoming out of date…

Post your ASL video to the SignWriting List when you have it ready -

Val ;-)

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On Apr 7, 2013, at 7:05 AM, Marquita Formosa <marquita_formosa at YAHOO.COM> wrote:

> Valerie,
> 
> I guess you understood me right. Basically in my demo I need 3 things:
> 
> 1. Sentence written in English
> 2. Video showing an interpreter signing the sentence in ASL
> 3. And if I can manage I would also write the equivalent in ASL signwriting.
> 
> This demo needs to be ready preferably in the following few weeks so that 
> following that I can describe my methodology and finalise my project by the 
> coming June.
> 
> Both the sign puddle and the web plugins seem extra interesting. I need to talk 
> to my thesis supervisor which would be the best idea for my project but to be 
> honest I need more information on the web plugins before I decide since if they 
> can be fully implemented in a website (html) I will be able to prepare the demo 
> in the form of a website. They will for sure help me to create a small prototype 
> which in my area (Software Development) will be an asset for sure.
> 
> May I ask if the web plugins are ready to be used?
> 
> Thanks in advance
> Marquita 
>