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I agree with Maria, you might be surprised how a specific configuration for a handshape that one makes which seems to not be in the ISWA could probably be commonly signed by others as a different handshape that is in the ISWA. It could also be that there is a symbol that represents the handshape but has been overlooked or even forgotten. I know that I have done that on numerous occasions, and I did photos for every hand symbol in to ISWA. SMILE! So if you have a photo of the handshapes you are looking for and maybe even a video of the signs you want to write, we could probably help you work something out. Two heads are better than one, but a community of SignWriters is better. :-D Adam On Sep 18, 2012, at 6:53 PM, MARIA GALEA wrote: > Hi Steve and Madson, > > Prior to creating new handshapes for ISWA, you might want to make sure > such handshapes are truly required. > > In the 10 active Literature Puddles I'm analyzing - not one of these > Puddles use all base handshapes of any given group (one of these are > Brazil). For example there is noone who uses all Group 1 (Index) symbols, > not one Puddle that uses all Group 2 (Index Middle) etc etc.. all the way > down to Group 10. > > I strongly believe (and the analysis I'm carrying out points to this, and > is based on real evidence) that sign languages have enough (and more than > enough) symbols to represent their phonological inventories. > > It is true that there are these nuances in sign language, where for > example a new sign entering the language uses a 'rare' handshape - however > the question is - can another more frequently used handshape be used > instead of this 'odd' handshape (and extremely low frequency)? And more > importantly if the higher frequency symbol is used instead, does the sign > remain readable? If the answer to that is yes - than the likelihood is > that the low frequency symbol is not truly required to represent the given > language. > > My question to Madson is this - can you use another symbol from the ISWA > to represent the handshape/s you have in mind? and if you write your signs > with the ISWA handshapes (similar symbols/glyphs, but perhaps not exactly > what you have in mind), do your signs remain readable in context? Can the > signs be read with ISWA symbols that are already there? > > But then again, my study is about 'orthography' - the graphical > representation of specific languages. I understand that ISWA (2010) goes > beyond this. ISWA (2010) can be used for phonetic transcriptions - and > having very detailed phonetic representations of sign language is in > itself very useful for phonetic studies. > > Maria > >> Hi Madson and list, >> >> The core of the ISWA 2010 will not change, but we can add an addendum of >> new handshapes. This will be a compatible improvement and will not >> change any of the existing data. >> >> I have worked out most of the technical details to make this work. It >> relies on creating complex subsets of the ISWA where the symbols can be >> reorganized and reordered for the individual languages. We will all >> still use the ISWA, we'll just be able to access them according to the >> default international order created by Val, or by a custom language >> specific order. >> >> Adding new handshapes is not a trivial matter. Each handshape will need >> to comply with all of Valerie's rules: written and unwritten. Each new >> handshape will need an addition to the font that is compatible with the >> existing font. So if anyone would like to propose a new handshape for >> the ISWA 2010, we will need someone to create the font addition and >> Valerie's approval and my verification of the technical details. >> >> If anyone is interested, we can discuss how to put together a proposal >> for a new handshape. >> >> New handshapes need: >> * real life picture of handshape >> * symbol ID that fits within the current ISWA hierarchy >> * English name >> * fallback handshape if new handshape is not available. >> * font Addition >> ** minimum of 12 PNGs (fills 1 thru 6, and rotations 1 & 2) >> ** eventually, 96 PNGs or 96 SVG per font. >> >> Regards, >> -Steve >> >> >