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From:  Charles Butler
Date:  Mon Feb 7, 2000  1:13 am
Subject:  Re: Can somebody send me a GIF for "What is your name?"


From: Marc Bode
To:
Sent: Saturday, February 05, 2000 8:15 PM
Subject: Can somebody send me a GIF for "What is your name?"

Hold it Mark, you are starting on the wrong question.

We could send you a gif with a specific cluster of markings which indicate a
movement and change of several handshapes which mean "name-you-name-name" in
American Sign Language" which fills the linguistic space of "what is your
name" but that is not "Universal Language Code" that is you, Mark, deciding
that "Universal Language Code" requires a concept of "identify" + "person
addressed"+"not person asking question"+"identifier for purpose of
conversation"+"tense". Linguistically, that's what you are asking for, not
"give me "what is your name" in Sign Writing." Sign Writing is NOT a
language but a transcription system for many languages. Do you want
"identify name you" in American Sign Language, or Danish Sign Language, or
Portuguese Sign Language or Taiwanese Sign Language. They are all
different. So asking for a Gif will get you at least 30 (or more).

Charles Butler
Sign Writer

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