Genesis of SignWriting

Wed Nov 6 18:56:38 UTC 2013

Nice work Stefan :)

Honza


On 6 November 2013 18:38, Stefan Woehrmann <
stefanwoehrmann at gebaerdenschrift.de> wrote:

>  Hi Honza, Valerie and everybody...
>
> when I did this kind of research a decade ago I found some very
> interesting documents that may lead to the assumption that SignWriting is a
> notation system that existed already long time ago...   smile
>
> L.I.F.E
>
>
>
> All best
>
>
>
> Stefan
>
>
>
>
>  ------------------------------
>
> *Von:* SignWriting List: Read and Write Sign Languages [mailto:
> SW-L at LISTSERV.VALENCIACOLLEGE.EDU] *Im Auftrag von *Valerie Sutton
> *Gesendet:* Mittwoch, 6. November 2013 17:54
> *An:* SW-L at LISTSERV.VALENCIACOLLEGE.EDU
> *Betreff:* Re: Genesis of SignWriting
>
>
>
> SignWriting List
>
> November 6, 2013
>
>
>
> Hello Honza and everyone -
>
> Thank you for starting this interesting thread, about the “genesis” or the
> background and history not only to SignWriting, but to writing sign
> languages throughout history. There is a lot to discuss.
>
>
>
> Regarding Roch-Ambroise Auguste Bébian…
>
> I first heard about Bébian’s system in September 2007, when my friend
> Shane Gilchrist (hi Shane!) suggested that I purchase a book called “I See
> a Voice” by Jonathan Rée. I ordered it from Amazon.com and then enjoyed
> skimming the chapters related to writing sign languages, from page 293-324.
> It was there that I first learned about Bébian, but I was immediately
> attracted to his system and his feelings about writing sign languages and
> felt a “connection” (you know what I mean - almost a spiritual feeling that
> we were on the same plane, so to speak). And there are many other
> interesting stories and information in the book which makes me think I
> should read the book more carefully - I confess I have only skimmed the
> book.
>
>
>
> But yes, Honza, I see the connection, but no, I did not know about Bébian
> at the time of my first writing Danish Sign Language and a South Pacific
> Sign Language back in Denmark in 1974, 1975 and 1976.
>
>
>
> I was a little different than the other developers of writing systems, in
> that I did not come from a knowledge of any sign language, nor did I have a
> desire to learn linguistics. I loved languages in general, but that is not
> a linguistic interest. I was already writing the dances of the Bournonville
> tradition at the Royal Theater in Copenhagen with my invention in 1974, and
> when I started writing the movement of both hearing people and Danish Sign
> Language from a video at the University of Copenhagen starting in 1974, I
> was sharing my time between writing dance at the Royal theater and writing
> sign language movement and hearing-person’s gestures at the University - I
> saw myself as a movement notator and not a sign language writer at the
> time…but overtime, as I wrote more of Danish Sign Language on the video, I
> became aware it was a real language…I self-published two booklets on
> writing sign languages - one on writing Danish Sign Language, and the other
> on writing signs from a South Pacific Island with Rolf Kuschel. These two
> booklets are mentioned on this web page, and I could scan them and post
> them on the web if you wish…would you like to see these old historic
> documents?
>
>
>
> http://www.signwriting.org/library/history/hist003.html
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> My influence was definitely Friedrich Albert Zorn (
> http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Albert_Zorn ), and Walt Disney’s
> animation that places movement in drawings frame by frame by frame from
> left to right on a five-lined staff that can fit under music… That was my
> starting point…
>
>
>
> Then I started writing sign language in stick figures at the University go
> Copenhagen… Later I learned about Dr.Stokoe and his research…
>
>
>
> I think starting visual with stick figures, with no linguistic judgements,
> had great value, and I still believe in the visual, but it is the writers
> we work with, like yourself, Honza, and in my case, the Deaf Action
> Committee, that had the greatest influence on our writing expressively, in
> vertical columns, without full stick figures…the way we write today…and the
> internet had a big influence…where I and others meet people like yourself -
> as we write we influence each other...
>
>
>
> I bet there were many other writing systems for sign languages before and
> after Bébian, that we have not heard of, because everyone needs a way to
> write signs… Adam tells me that most signers have developed their own way
> of writing their language from time to time…Adam developed his own system
> too, before starting to work with SignWriting, and I have also met other
> Deaf signers who have done the same - Bernard Bragg is one -
>
>
>
> If Bébian had done his work during the age of the internet, we might be
> writing his system worldwide now - smile -
>
>
>
> Val ;-)
>
>
>
> -----
>
>
>
> On Nov 6, 2013, at 7:18 AM, Honza <honza at RUCE.CZ> wrote:
>
>
>
>  Hello Valerie,
>
>
>
> recently I researched history if writing sign languages and I realized
> that the very first writing system developed by Roch-Ambroise Auguste
> Bébian (French) is in some way similar to SignWriting.
>
> Did you know about Bebian's writing system by the time you developed
> SignWriting on the basis of DanceWriting and were you inspired by his
> system or not?
> It is known that Stokoe created his notation system on the basis of
> Bebian's..
>
> It is very interesting fact.
>
>
>
> It interests me because I teach about writing sign languages at
> University, but I haven't found enought detail about this.
>
>
>
> Thank you.
>
> Honza
>
>
>   ________________________________________________
>
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>
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>
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>
>  SIGNWRITING LIST INFORMATION
>
> Valerie Sutton SignWriting List moderator sutton at signwriting.org
>
> Post Messages to the SignWriting List: sw-l at listserv.valenciacollege.edu
>
> SignWriting List Archives & Home Page
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>
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