About The HamNoSys System

HamNoSys was developed by a group of hearing and deaf people as a scientific/research tool and first made publicly available in 1989. The purpose of HamNoSys, unlike SignWriting, has never been an everyday use to communicate (e.g. in letters) in sign language. It was designed to fit a research setting and should be applicable to every sign language in the world. It consists of about 200 symbols covering the parameters of handshape, hand configuration, location and movement (cf. Stokoe Notation). The symbols are as iconic as possible and are easily recognizable. The order of the symbols within a string is fixed, but still it is possible to write down one and the same sign in lots of different ways. The notation is somewhat phonemic, we're working on a 'phonologization' of the system at the moment. Hence, the transcriptions are very precise, but on the other hand also very long and cumbersome to decipher. It is possible to note down facial expressions, but their development isn't quite finished yet. In the above chart, facial expressions are written to the far right. HamNoSys is still being improved and extended all the time as the need arises. The system is used, for example, in research institutions in Finland, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland and Germany (cf. the New Zealand dictionary of sign language or the technical dictionary for joinery from Hamburg ).