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From:
RTenn80762 Date: Tue May 19, 1998 9:54 pm Subject: SUGGESTION | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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I am writing this as an open letter to Valerie Sutton as it has to do with a suggestion for the arrangement of the "new" Sign Writing dictionary she is proposing to construct in the near future. The reaction to this suggestion by the members of this list should be of interest and of value to her. Dear Valerie, It has long been my contention that the Sign Language dictionaries currently available contribute to the attitude that ASL is an off-shoot of the English Language rather than an independent language . Most, if not all of them, arrange the signs by the alphabetical arrangement of the sign's English glosses. This is not only insulting to ASL, but awkward to those constructing such a resource. Choices must be made from the many glosses a single sign may have to keep the size of the resource within bounds at the sacrifice of completeness. Most dictionaries used in teaching a foreign language, on the other hand, are "two way". One can search for a foreign word and find the English meaning or search for an English word and find the foreign translations. Shouldn't we have the same for ASL and English? In the dictionaries mentioned above there is no way one can look up a sign and find its English meanings! What is needed to accomplish the desired "two way" dictionary is a logical method of ordering of the signs that is easy to learn and meaningful to apply. Alphabetical order is not the answer to this need. A morphological or handshape order is called for that incorperates number, placement, movement and expression. Gallaudet University Press has announced just such a dictionary, "Handshape Dictionary", in its spring catalog. A review of this "two way" dictionary, which will becoming out next month, appears in this catalog. I believe the application of the morphological order used here to the proposed Sign Writing Dictionary would be very worthwhile. For the first time the writing of ASL is possible, thanks to your devotion to the construction and dissemination of Sign Writing. It will therefore be doubly important that there exist a source where one can find the meaning of a sign appearing in an article, story, etc. one is reading. You will want your dictionary to provide this need. Before constructing this new dictionary I would hope that you will be able to study the order used in this "Handshape Dictionary" and consider its usefulness in what you are compiling. I will send you a copy as soon as I get my hands on one. With much affection and appreciation, Richard | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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