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Dear Val, dear James, dear all, answering to those 6 questions is difficult indeed! I agree with your understanding, SignWriting users are probably in the order of thousands, considering all the countries around the world. But again, they are just guesses. :) Thanks Val! 2014-11-18 18:14 GMT+01:00 Valerie Sutton <[log in to unmask]>: > SignWriting List > November 18, 2014 > > Hello Fabrizio and James - > > Thank you for this thread, asking “How many users of SignWriting in the > world?”… > > This is a question that is continually and understandably asked, but is > hard to answer, since statistics are very hard to collect. > > Let me ask you similarly difficult questions, Fabrizio… > > 1. How many Deaf people live in Italy? > 2. How many of those Deaf people are pre-lingually Deaf? > 3. How many of the Deaf population use a sign language or use signs as > their primary language? > 4. How many people, both hearing and Deaf, use sign language in Italy? > 5. How many signers in Italy know there is a written form? > 6. How many signers write sign language? > > Answering any of those questions is almost impossible …but there can be > guesses - but only guesses - > > For example, I once heard the statistic that around 7% of the world’s > population has some kind of hearing loss, and that only around 1% of the > world’s population uses a sign language on a daily basis… > > If those statistics are true, then you could apply that to your population > in Italy - but are those statistics true? > > I don’t think anyone knows… > > And then to add to the mix - our web sites are terribly behind in catching > up with all the people and groups that use SignWriting around the world, so > to base your statistics on our web sites is meager at best - yes, we have a > “Who Uses SignWriting?” web page but that does not list all the countries - > and when I say countries I really only mean small groups of people within > each country - so to be accurate we have no idea how many people use > SignWriting! > > However, I know there are a lot from our small perspective - I tell people > “thousands, if not 10,000” and that is just based on what I have heard from > groups - but that is only conjecture - > > I surely wish I could give you a real statistic, but if you can find a way > to word it - like - “Some say that 1% of the world’s populations uses a > sign language as their primary daily language” and the percentage of the > sign languages users around the world who realize that their languages can > now be written languages is small, but growing, based on the number of > projects that have been established in over 40 countries …” > > Or something like that! > > Val ;-) > > ------- > > > On Nov 17, 2014, at 7:00 AM, Fabrizio Borgia <[log in to unmask]> > wrote: > > Dear James, > thanks for your very detailed answer, by "users" I include individuals > from category one and two, i.e. > > 1) SW - actively use it > 2) SW - actively used it in school, but no longer do > > I agree with your vision, one educational administrator with a vision > could really change things. I'm not fully aware of the educational > situation here in Italy, but I have the feeling that it's the same for us > too. > > Thank! > > > 2014-11-17 15:52 GMT+01:00 James Shepard-Kegl <[log in to unmask]>: > >> Fabrizio, >> >> Define "users". >> >> In Nicaragua - today -, I would divide the population (hearing and Deaf) >> into four groups: >> 1) SW - actively use it >> 2) SW - actively used it in school, but no longer do >> 3) SW - have seen it, know something about it, can't read it >> 4) SW -- "What's that? Never heard of it!" >> >> Group 1: less than 5, I would guess (That figure will go up in December >> because I will be conducting sign language grammar workshops -- and anybody >> who participates is going to realize that SW is integral to our work -- and >> once I leave,....) >> Group 2: approx. 50 (primarily in Bluefields, but also in Condega) >> Group 3: maybe 300 (because any family member of a Deaf student in >> Bluefields 10 years ago would certainly have seen SW, plus families in >> diverse locations where NSLP staff have introduced Nicaraguan Sign >> Language.) >> Group 4: about 6 million >> >> There are two reasons to use SW: 1) as an aid in linguistic sign >> language research 2) literacy, and specifically, sign language literacy >> >> Where you have funded researchers who are actively working, you will >> encounter SW. Put another way, a researcher who starts to use SW probably >> won't stop (until the funding runs out). >> >> In my experience, school administrators, that is, those charged with >> bring education to children, have zero interest in enabling Deaf children >> to develop sign language literacy skills. School teachers, poorly paid as >> they are and insecure in their jobs, know better than to buck the system. >> >> Of course, my experience is limited. >> >> On an optimistic note, I would suggest that one educational administrator >> with a vision (if that person is high enough in the educational hierarchy) >> could make all the difference. >> >> -- James >> >> >> ---- Fabrizio Borgia <[log in to unmask]> wrote: >> > Dear all, >> > has anyone ever attempted to estimate the number of SignWriting users in >> > the worlds? The "Who uses SignWriting?" page gives a detaialed account >> of >> > the SignWriting communities around the world, but has anyone ever >> attempted >> > to *count* the number of individuals using SignWriting? >> > Are we in the order of hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands? >> > Thanks! >> > >> > -- >> > Fabrizio Borgia, M.D. >> > >> > Ph.D. Student >> > Sapienza - Università di Roma >> > Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier >> > >> > O&M Software Engineering >> > SERCO S.p.A. >> > >> > [log in to unmask] >> > [log in to unmask] >> > [log in to unmask] >> > >> > ________________________________________________ >> > >> > >> > 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 >> >> > > > -- > Fabrizio Borgia, M.D. > > Ph.D. Student > Sapienza - Università di Roma > Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier > > O&M Software Engineering > SERCO S.p.A. > > [log in to unmask] > [log in to unmask] > [log in to unmask] > ________________________________________________ > > 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 > > -- Fabrizio Borgia, M.D. Ph.D. Student Sapienza - Università di Roma Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier O&M Software Engineering SERCO S.p.A. [log in to unmask] [log in to unmask] [log in to unmask] ________________________________________________ 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