Evolution to Simplified SignWriting

[Eduardo Trápani]

> We remove touch star on all signs that have just one contact
> and hands are already close enough to show that they are in contact,
> include our logo for /Libras Escrita/.
>
> See below:
>
> Imagem inline 2
First of all, I'm just a beginner.  I find this "simplification" a bit
confusing, I wouldn't know how to do the sign on the right if I had read
it alone. I mean, is it *that* obvious for everybody that the hands are
so close that they touch?

See for example the beginning of ASL for "get (receive)":



Or the one for "sign":



The hands are more or less at the same distance as in the Libras Escrita
logo, but they do not touch. So "close enough" is not a clear enough
rule in SW (and that is not an issue if we don't expect to be able to
exchange and study texts from other sign languages).

I think that in signs where hands touch but they are not right by each
other, the star should not be removed.


> Imagem inline 3
For somebody that does not know the sign, it might be hard to decide if
they do or do not touch.

I didn't know about this simplified SignWriting. For movement it's ok,
but I would try to avoid removing the star unless it is completely obvious.

And, should the star be removed, I would write the hands so that they
actually touch (no space between them):



Otherwise, for the sake of simplification, the system adds a complexity,
with a not-so-clear rule (if hands in "libras escrita" touch so could
the hands in the ASL signs above), and it does no longer mirror the
signs so well. *The* beauty of SW is that you can look at it and read it
(even if you don't know the sign language involved or the sign itself).

I think that, removing the star without clear rules, makes SignWriting
evolve into a sort of abjad (consonantal alphabet) where the reader has
to provide the missing bits (in Arabic, the vowels). Meaning also that
the reader has to know the language pretty well. Reading dictionary
entries from other languages will be harder. It is evolution, but I
don't know if it makes things simpler, it surely does not for beginners
like me. And we really need a simple *and* coherent system for real
adoption. I guess we've all had our share of writing systems with rules
that do not always apply, systems where it's not enough to be native,
you have to stop and think before you write.

For other type of texts it might be safe to assume the reader is fluent
in the language and will know how to read it but for teaching and
learning ... I'd really think twice before globally removing single
stars in "close enough" configurations, or asking students to do it.

Eduardo.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/sw-l/attachments/20130810/13debc10/attachment.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 75706 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/sw-l/attachments/20130810/13debc10/attachment.jpe>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: get.png
Type: image/png
Size: 723 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/sw-l/attachments/20130810/13debc10/attachment.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: signing.png
Type: image/png
Size: 778 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/sw-l/attachments/20130810/13debc10/attachment-0001.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 57487 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/sw-l/attachments/20130810/13debc10/attachment-0001.jpe>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: glyphogram.png
Type: image/png
Size: 1485 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/sw-l/attachments/20130810/13debc10/attachment-0002.png>