forum SignWriting List Forum
  Message 931  |  Previous | Next  [ Up Thread ] Message Index
From:  Mark Penner
Date:  Fri Jan 22, 1999  8:23 am
Subject:  Re: Typing SW in a Japanese Program


> In regards to the program Mark Penner mentioned - Microsoft Word in
> Japanese - there may be another solution in that case. A dictionary of
> completed signs could be stored, and the signs could be pasted into the
> Microsoft documents at will. I will be looking into this in time.

The way a Japanese wordprocessor works is, at its simplest, this:
You type in the sound, either using the 26 roman characters or the Japanese
alphabet of 50 or so characters. On the screen you see the Japanese
alphabet characters highlighted. You then press a "change" button, and the
program will replace the alphabet characters with Kanji (Chin.Char.)
highlighted. If the Kanji is the one you want, you hit "enter" and it
becomes part of your sentence.If not, you hit the "change" key again, and
the program gives you a whole list of Kanji that have that sound. You
choose the correct one and hit "enter."

Individual characters are linked to their readings, and the program allows
you to make your own links, and also to draw your own characters. It is at
this point that my knowledge breaks down. How many pixels per character are
allowed, how to draw them, can they be pasted, etc. I don't know.

All this to say, if it's done right, I could do more than just paste in
pictures from other programs. I could type in an SW word unit as a
character by typing in any sound I associate with it and choosing it from
the font list. As you say, this would not be SignWriting. It could, though,
be a step in helping the idea begin to penetrate the Japanese Deaf
community, and at the very least, it would be beneficial to us short term
by allowing us to mix languages, bypassing the more difficult and time
consuming aspects of the SW program and allowing us to use, in a limited
fashion, a program that's familiar and easy.

Mark





Mark and Mary Esther Penner
Tokyo, Japan

https://www.deaf.or.jp/vibi/


  Replies Author Date
946 How Are SW Symbols Invented? Valerie Sutton Tue  1/26/1999
960 ...the Full Moon Smiles... Valerie Sutton Sun  1/31/1999
967 Re: About Sign Dic... Valerie Sutton Sun  1/31/1999
969 Re: About Sign Dic... Valerie Sutton Mon  2/1/1999
984 Finding Links to a Site Valerie Sutton Wed  2/3/1999

  Message 931  |  Previous | Next  [ Up Thread ] Message Index