I. Introduction

II. Describing Language
1. Schematics
2. Feature Matrices
3. Alphabets

III. Scripts
1. Logographic
2. Alphabetic
3. Featural

IV. Origins
1. William Stokoe
2. Valerie Sutton

V. Comparison
1. Movement
2. Handshape
3. Location
4. Orientation
5. NMGSs

VI. Structure
1. Taxonomy
2. Iconicity
3. Ordering
4. Four Dimensions
5. Reading & Writing
6. Grammar
7. Learnability
8. Evolution

VII. Conclusions

VIII. References

Abstract

While signed languages have traditionally been treated as unwritten or even unwritable, there have been many attempts to create writing systems for them. Two of the best known, Stokoe Notation, developed by a linguist, and Sutton SignWriting, developed by a movement notator, are here discussed and compared on such points as their creation, evolution, and the mechanics of how they operate. Theoretical issues are discussed such as iconicity, symbol ordering, literacy, and the problem of representing space in two dimensions.

Many of these issues are shown to pose insurmountable obstacles for approaches based on traditional linguistics, such as the Stokoe system. Problems are seen to arise not from the nature of signed languages themselves but due to restrictions imposed by traditional theoretical assumptions, which stem from the study of oral language.

The movement notation approach taken by Sutton SignWriting is not bound by such restrictions, and is shown to be feasible and to have met with some acceptance.