More vagueness
Here are a few more ramblings, you seemed have turned my latest one into something that made sense.
Chinese is odd. There is 1 major way to write it, but many versions of (Mandarin, Cantonese, etc) of pronunciation. So if a written sign language was made that did not represent the actual movement of the sign, you are bound to see a written language that is signed differently by different people and regions.
In Chinese this means two people who can't understand each other verbally can understand each other in writing. In English, if I wrote down "I washed the car and walked the dog" and asked someone to read it, I'd get a slightly different version is Boston than Houston, but no difference in meaning.
I wonder how differently works written in this ASL script would be signed.
Chinese symbols evolved from much more hieroglyphic origins and I always wondered if sign writing (if widely used) would morph too.
An interesting thing about Spanish. It's VERY phonetic. Someone with a little training can learn to read Spanish outloud to someone and be understood even if they don't understand it themselves. With sign writing I've correctly formed signs that I didn't understand.
When I program, I don't long for English because the vocabulary of programing is specific to what I want to communicate. I think a written version of sign might help hearing and deaf alike learn sign.
I think it would also help with English... it's a stretch but here's an idea.
Maybe written ASL would prevent Signglish... that is .. English that is written in ASL word order. Maybe it wouldn't prevent it at all. Being bi-lingual, (ok almost 3 if you count sign) I know that a partial mastery of either language hurts BOTH vocabularies. Clarity and separation of each language causes an increase of mastery of both language.
To speak Spanish well I have to THINK in Spanish. I can't sign well until I start to THINK in sign, but this only happens when I go to deaf chats. A written form that is NOT English would be helpful to me learning more ASL.
