si5s to write ASL

Wirelessly posted (Blackberry Bold )

Arthaey - for your class, it might be worth looking into SignWriting - which while bulky IS a much more 'easy reading' system.



Also there is SignWriting writing software available (free) that you could use to create a "written reminder" of the signs.



While it's not perfect, it really is the best of the used systems for "written coding" of individual signs.


Btw - from even your limited use of the si5s system I'm sure it's apparent how utterly useless and exhausting it would be to use even to sign a sentence (let alone a 5min dialouge !)
 
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Anij said:
...Btw - from even your limited use of the si5s system I'm sure it's apparent how utterly useless and exhausting it would be to use even to sign a sentence (let alone a 5min dialouge !)
Click to expand...
They need a cursive form.

:giggle:
 
Anij said:
Arthaey - for your class, it might be worth looking into SignWriting - which while bulky IS a much more 'easy reading' system.

Also there is SignWriting writing software available (free) that you could use to create a "written reminder" of the signs.
Click to expand...

Thanks Anij, I'm looking into SignWriting right now! I think it might make for good flashcards. :)

Anij said:
Btw - from even your limited use of the si5s system I'm sure it's apparent how utterly useless and exhausting it would be to use even to sign a sentence (let alone a 5min dialouge !)
Click to expand...

It was difficult to use, I agree... But then again, I'm not sure how much is the fault of the system itself, vs my being unfamiliar with it. For example, I would find writing in Arabic or Chinese to be exhausting and confusing, but those writing systems have been used for thousands of years with plenty of speakers. Fluent & literate Arabic or Chinese speakers don't seem to have a problem with their writing systems. :)

As far as exhausting to write, SignWriting symbols seem much more complicated than si5s! But si5s is missing vital things (like palm orientation and sufficient number of locations) that it doesn't matter if it's quicker to write, it just isn't up to the task of writing ASL.
 
From a hearing person's perspective:

I was not a native ASL user. I had to learn ASL in the classroom, from the Deaf community, from videos, from books (mostly for explanation of the grammar), and practice.

To be honest, I never used any of those sign writing systems, yet I managed to learn ASL.

In fact, I'm sure most people who learned how to sign ASL never used a sign writing system as part of the process.

As a student of ASL, it's enough work to learn the signs and grammar. Why add on more things (written sign symbols) to remember? Yikes!
 
There's a good comparison of various writing systems for sign languages (a couple of them are, unfortunately, specific to ASL) at
[link omitted because the spamfilter doesn't like me]. SignWriting is the only one with a large user base. People actually use it, frequently.

If you do some searching, you'll find that there are handwritten forms of SignWriting, which are much easier than attempting to reproduce the printed style. For example, rather than leaving a gap at the knuckle joint, you can draw a line across the knuckle joint.

Such systems are, of course, useful for people like me and you who are attempting to learn signed languages: they're a way to take notes of the stuff we're learning. But Sutton SignWriting does actually have a large Deaf userbase too.
 
And the idea that video can substitute for text is nonsense: how can a group of people collaborate to edit a video (see Wikipedia in ASL, which uses Sutton SignWriting)? How can you post a video anonymously? How can you _print_ a video and read it by candlelight on a camping trip far away from electricity?
 
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