| SignWriting List Archive 1 October 1997 - May 1998 |
February 18, 1998
MESSAGE TO THE SIGNWRITING EMAIL LIST
SUBJECT: Help In Research
Date: Wed, 18 Feb 98 14:19:12 -0800
From: "James Womack"<womack@ccrouter.ccsn.nevada.edu>
To: <DAC@SignWriting.org>
Subject: Re: Help In Research
Writing systems for spoken languages are specifically designed
for those languages and signed languages were not considered
when the systems were created. Consequently, such writing systems
are well suited to convey most of the characteristics of those
spoken languages with a measureable degree of accuracy. This
is not true when applied to signed languages.
Since signed languages are optical/manual and not aural/oral,
the written system cannot be reasonably expected to fit the needs
of the signed languages. Whereas a system designed specifically
for signed languages does fit that criteria.
To better understand this, consider tools. A hammer is designed
to force a fairly small pointed object into a softer object (nail
and wood), and to retrieve the same (claw). It is suitable for
most jobs that require forcing one object into another or flattening
a small object or area. However, if you need a tool turning over
a pancake, a spatula will serve far better than a hammer.
So too is a writing system designed for an aural/oral language
fine for its intended purpose, but unsuitable for accurately
conveying an optical/manual communication language. The pancake
wasn't what the creator of the hammer had in mind while fashioning
the first hammer. Nor was signed languages what the creators
of writing systems had in mind when they created their writing
systems.
James Womack
womack@ccrouter.ccsn.nevada.edu
Community College of Southern Nevada
Department of International Languages
3200 East Cheyenne Avenue, #N2C,
North Las Vegas, Nevada, 89030-4296
702-651-4301 TTY
702-643-6427 FAX