...back to Table of Contents....

Introduction	Chapter 5, Part 1	Appendix B
Chapter 1	Chapter 5, Part 2	Appendix C
Chapter 2	Chapter 6	Appendix D & E
Chapter 3	Summary & Bibliography	Appendix F
Chapter 4	Appendix A	Appendix G

The Sign-Symbol-Sequence...*Footnote 20... is a list of all of the symbols in SignWriting. This list is in a "sequence." The Sign-Symbol-Sequence is used to look up signs in dictionaries.

*Footnote 20: Appendix G originally included 20 pages from the Lessons in SignWriting Textbook and Workbook by Valerie Sutton, listing the Sign-Symbol-Sequence as it was used in 1995 (1995: Section 15: 1-22). These 20 pages have not been included in this web posting because it is too long. A complete listing of the Sign-Symbol-Sequence, which is undergoing changes in 1999, is planned as a web posting at a later date.

For example, we all know that when we look up a word in an English dictionary, that all of the words that begin with the letter "A" will be in the first section of the dictionary, and that all of the words that begin with the letter "B" will be in the second section.

The English alphabet, in other words, is in a special sequence called "alphabetic order." We all have to memorize it in school. The Sign-Symbol-Sequence is a way to put signs in a kind of "alphabetic order," using SignWriting symbols.

For example, in the Sign-Symbol-Sequence, all of the signs that use the handshape come first in the dictionary, and all of the signs that use the handshape come second in the dictionary.

Just as we all had to memorize the English "alphabetic order" in school, to look up a sign using the "Sign-Symbol-Sequence," you also have to memorize, or at least have a general idea of the sequence in you head. This will not be difficult if you know the numbers 1- 10 in ASL.

Hand symbols in SignWriting are divided into ten groups. Hands are grouped according to which fingers are used; an easy way to remember the groups is to count from 1 to 10 in ASL.