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From:  Valerie Sutton
Date:  Thu Apr 19, 2001  10:27 pm
Subject:  Re: Flat Hand: 20 Palm Facings

SignWriting List
April 19, 2001

Sutton Movement Writing is a large writing system. SignWriting does
not use ALL of the symbols in the Sutton "SymbolBank".

In the early 1980's, we wrote SignWriting from the Receptive
Viewpoint. We never wrote handshapes from the Top View. So how did we
write the Flat Hand pointing straight forward parallel with the
Floor, when we wrote receptively?

We used another symbol for the Flat Hand (see the attached diagram).

Anyone who knew SignWriting in the 1980's has seen this old Flat Hand
symbol, which was taken away from SignWriting when we started using
the Expressive Viewpoint. I put it back in our big closet of symbols,
the SymbolBank, wondering if it would ever be used again ;-)

When the Expressive View was introduced, we also simultaneously
introduced the new Top View. The Top View worked so well in the
Expressive, that we did not need the "Front View" of the hands
projecting forward or back any longer...or so I thought...

Then, when Stefan asked for "writing rules" of the Angled Handshapes,
I started to realize that the Angle Hand was originally designed, not
based on the Flat Hand that we use today, but based on the shorter
Flat Hand symbol that we used in the 1980's, that represents
"projection".

So I am bringing back the old symbol. I believe in the case of the
sign for "boat" in German Sign Language, that it is a useful symbol,
and probably will be used occasionally.

Below are diagrams of the fingers projecting away from the Reader:

Attachment
PalmFacing3.gif
Type: image/gif
Size: 10k
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