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I think it's Stefan's call whether it is OK to circulate the brief video. If he would like to, I just need to edit it ever so slightly - there is a lot of text in between shots to explain what people are seeing and I have to make sure those screens stay up longer so people have time to read! On Sun, Dec 22, 2013 at 2:33 PM, Valerie Sutton <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > SignWriting List > December 22, 2013 > > Hello James - > Such a book would be wonderful, I agree, that would pinpoint some of the > grammar points that are common to multiple sign languages - I suspect that > the East Asian sign languages might be quite different than the western > sign languages and so a cross-linguistic guide to the grammar of certain > groups of sign languages could be written - but that is a project for > another day - I do not know of such a book - does anyone on the List? > > I think that four months teaching Deaf children in Tunisia will be a > blessing for the school and students, and will get them started thinking > about reading and writing signs - that is all it can be - only a beginning > - but Tunisia is an amazing country, starting on many “new beginnings” > right now, and I believe in Tunisia’s creativity and tenacity for change - > > Dali, please keep us informed about using your new materials - I will post > them, after we get finished discussing them - Dali and I have been > improving the books a little before posting - They are lovely and he has > done a lot of work - > > James - tell us about Nicaragua - how are the two schools going? > > Nicaraguan Sign Language Projects > http://www.nicaraguansignlanguageprojects.org/ > http://www.signwriting.org/nicaragua/nicaragua.html > > Val ;-) > > -------- > > > On Dec 21, 2013, at 7:44 PM, James Shepard-Kegl <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > > > Valerie et al, > > > > I am very gratified to see all the story adaptations in so many signed > languages that are appearing on the web lately. This is part of a long > process. I do think a grammar book, as challenging as it would be, would > be very useful. As I said before, I think we could make one for signed > languages generally -- if we do so carefully. Maybe others already have > and I am just too isolated of late to know. > > > > -- James > > > > > > ---- Valerie Sutton <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > >> SignWriting List > >> December 21, 2013 > >> > >> Hello James, Dali, and everyone who teaches SignWriting around the > world…and there are many people who do now… and each country, and each > teacher, teaches differently and uses different materials… I hope to post > these materials on the web for download... > >> > >> Thank you for this email, James, and I agree that the materials you > describe below sound excellent and are needed - and thank you also for the > books and literature you have written in Nicaraguan Sign Language already, > in SignWriting…I have barely been able to keep up with posting all the > documents - There are sooooo many documents that have been sent to me > privately that have not yet been posted on our web site, it is a true > shame…So I will try to rectify this in 2014 if I can… Maybe if I can keep > up my strength we will have more and more materials posted in 2014 - > >> > >> Regarding Tunisia, I just want to explain that we are all blessed with > Professor Mohamed Dali Balti, who is diligently translating some of our > books and materials into Tunisian Sign Language and Arabic and French - the > languages of Tunisia. There are two such books that Dali has just sent to > me in the past two weeks…one a textbook on SignWriting Hand Symbols used in > Tunisian Sign Language, based on Adam Frost’s work, and the other is a > beautiful translation of our Beginner’s Workbook in SignWriting…the > Goldilocks coloring book…that we use in the SignWriting Literacy Project. > >> > >> Both books are large enough that I think I need to post them on our web > site first, and then write again with the links to download the books, > rather than post them directly here on the List. Also, Dali has written > other children’s stories in SignWriting in Tunisian Sign Language, and I > believe one of them is Little Red Riding Hood, which you mention, James > below…. so Tunisia is one country that is moving towards your goals, James - > >> > >> I will write again with the links to the Tunisian documents - > >> > >> And there is now a book from Slovenia - Slovenia is also teaching > SignWriting to Deaf children - more on that too - > >> > >> Val ;-) > >> > >> --------- > >> > >> On Dec 21, 2013, at 9:15 AM, James Shepard-Kegl <[log in to unmask]> > wrote: > >> > >>> Fellow Signwriters, educators, linguists and signers, > >>> > >>> I continue to mull over the request for materials for the little > Tunisian project. I am ignoring the notion that SignWriting will help Deaf > children with sounds (?????) or their "mother tongue" (unless their mother > is Deaf and signs and this means their "mother hand"). > >>> > >>> However, the request for materials to teach SignWriting is a valid > request IF the request is really to teach signing, using SignWriting as an > orthographic tool (which is what SW actually is.) I am sure that many of > us have been developing such materials in one form or another for years. > Maybe we could pool resources and efforts to produce something that many > people will find truly useful. > >>> > >>> Let's begin with a premise: Signed languages tend to be grammatically > similar (not the same, but not all that different, either.) Vocabulary > varies a lot, but all signed languages use classifiers and classifier > clitics a great deal. All these languages follow syntax rules using > spatial and locative verbs. This is the reason that natively fluent Deaf > signers in one country pick up other signed languages so quickly, even when > these signers themselves cannot articulate their own grammar rules. (You > don't have to know what a "predicate" is to use one properly in your > sentence structure for your own language. On the other hand, it is very > useful to know grammar labels and rules when you are trying to learn the > language of somebody else.) > >>> > >>> I keep making a big deal that you can't teach SignWriting unless you > have developed reading material that is FUN to read. But, what I mean is > that you want fun and engaging reading material to help teach signing -- > and not just to Deaf children, but to their hearing siblings and > parents/grandparents, as well. > >>> > >>> I am picturing in my mind a text, divided into sections: > >>> > >>> 1) A RULES section that explains in detail the common grammar terms of > signed languages. This section would use illustrations from many signed > languages. And, this section would be translated into many spoken > languages. (That is, there would be an English version, a French version, > an Arabic version, and so forth. The educator then purchases or is > furnished with the specified version.) You will note that this section is > intended for literate educators. An ASL version, or translation in other > signed languages, would be really cool, too. Publishing something that > will be understandable and helpful will not be easy. However, please bear > in mind that the reason that most hearing administrators do not accept that > signed languages are bona fide languages (and the reason that so many Deaf > people don't believe it either is that publications like this are rare.) > >>> > >>> 2) A VOCABULARY section -- perhaps 1,000 signs -- again, specify the > signed language you want. Each sign is depicted in photos or diagrams, > SignWriting, and "the mother tongue". A cute illustration would be nice, > too. > >>> > >>> 3) A SIGNWRITING WORKBOOK to accompany the vocabulary section. > >>> > >>> 4) A READING section: 20 illustrated children's stories, to be > practiced and enjoyed by all. If you produce a simple illustrated version > of Little Red Riding Hood in German, it does not take a lot of effort to > reproduce the same story in English. This should be even more true for > signed languages. > >>> > >>> This concept will take a lot of work -- several years, I expect. But, > in the end, when someone somewhere asks for materials to teach SignWriting, > we will have something really impressive, fun and useful to offer. > >>> > >>> -- James > >>> > >>> ________________________________________________ > >>> > >>> > >>> SIGNWRITING LIST INFORMATION > >>> > >>> Valerie Sutton > >>> SignWriting List moderator > >>> [log in to unmask] > >>> > >>> Post Messages to the SignWriting List: > >>> [log in to unmask] > >>> > >>> SignWriting List Archives & Home Page > >>> http://www.signwriting.org/forums/swlist > >>> > >>> Join, Leave or Change How You Receive SW List Messages > >>> http://listserv.valenciacollege.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=SW-L&A=1 > >>> > >> > >> ________________________________________________ > >> > >> > >> SIGNWRITING LIST INFORMATION > >> > >> Valerie Sutton > >> SignWriting List moderator > >> [log in to unmask] > >> > >> Post Messages to the SignWriting List: > >> [log in to unmask] > >> > >> SignWriting List Archives & Home Page > >> http://www.signwriting.org/forums/swlist > >> > >> Join, Leave or Change How You Receive SW List Messages > >> http://listserv.valenciacollege.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=SW-L&A=1 > >> > > > > ________________________________________________ > > > > > > SIGNWRITING LIST INFORMATION > > > > Valerie Sutton > > SignWriting List moderator > > [log in to unmask] > > > > Post Messages to the SignWriting List: > > [log in to unmask] > > > > SignWriting List Archives & Home Page > > http://www.signwriting.org/forums/swlist > > > > Join, Leave or Change How You Receive SW List Messages > > http://listserv.valenciacollege.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=SW-L&A=1 > > > > ________________________________________________ > > > SIGNWRITING LIST INFORMATION > > Valerie Sutton > SignWriting List moderator > [log in to unmask] > > Post Messages to the SignWriting List: > [log in to unmask] > > SignWriting List Archives & Home Page > http://www.signwriting.org/forums/swlist > > Join, Leave or Change How You Receive SW List Messages > http://listserv.valenciacollege.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=SW-L&A=1 > > -- Erika Hoffmann-Dilloway Assistant Professor of Anthropology Oberlin College ________________________________________________ SIGNWRITING LIST INFORMATION Valerie Sutton SignWriting List moderator [log in to unmask] Post Messages to the SignWriting List: [log in to unmask] SignWriting List Archives & Home Page http://www.signwriting.org/forums/swlist Join, Leave or Change How You Receive SW List Messages http://listserv.valenciacollege.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=SW-L&A=1