Introduction

to

Sign

Writing®

1

With all good wishes -

Valerie SuttonInventor, SignWriting

About SignWriting®

SignWriting is opening new frontiers of communication forsigners. This present generation of Deaf adults, who are learn-ing to read and write signed languages for the first time, aresetting the ground work for future generations.

SignWriting does not change American Sign Language (ASL). Itis simply a set of visually designed symbols that records howpeople sign. SignWriting captures on paper the visual subtle-ties of any signed language in the world, because it recordsbody movement.

I developed SignWriting out of respect and awe for the beautyand sophistication of all signed languages. I am not a linguist,but I have a tremendous love for learning languages. I willnever cease in my fascination and utter amazement at therichness of ASL. Because I respect ASL, I want to write it andpreserve it.

Obviously I have not done this enormous task alone. SignWritinghas been developed through a collaboration. I am most gratefulfor all of our Deaf staff members who have helped me improveSignWriting and shape its destiny. SignWriting is a living, ever-expanding writing system that is changing for the better, asmore Deaf people become involved.

This manual, About SignWriting, is a brief summary of basicSignWriting symbols. Please feel free to contact us anytime forinformation on other SignWriting publications. We would loveto hear from you!

Left: Coverof DøveBladetMagazine,May 1982.

ValerieSuttonteachingSignWritingin Denmark.

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Receptive Viewpoint

When someone is facing you, signing to you, you view the signs as an observer.The signer's right side is your left side. This is called the "Receptive Viewpoint".

3

Expressive Viewpoint

When you are signing to someone else, you see signs from your own point of view.This is called the "Expressive Viewpoint".

4

Palm ofHand

When you see the palm ofyour own hand while youare signing, the symbolfor the hand will be white,or hollow.

The palm of the hand isalways written with awhite, or hollow symbol.

TheExpressiveViewpoint

You read and write signsas if you are looking atyour own hands, fromyour own perspective.

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Side ofHand

When you see the side ofyour own hand while youare signing, the symbolfor the hand will be one-half black, and one-halfwhite.

The white part of thesymbol shows where thepalm of the hand faces.The dark part representsthe back of the hand.

Back ofHand

When you see the back ofyour own hand while youare signing, the symbolfor the hand will be black,or filled-in.

The back of the hand isalways written with ablack, filled-in symbol.

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Left Side of Head

The head is written with a circle, viewed from the back.When the left hand is near the left side of the head,

the symbol for the hand is placed to the left:

know(hand on the left side)

Note: An asterisk means touch. Two asterisks mean touching two times.For more information on contact symbols, see page 24.

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Right Side of Head

The head is written with a circle, viewed from the back.When the right hand is near the right side of the head,

the symbol for the hand is placed to the right:

know(hand on the right side)

Note: An asterisk means touch. Two asterisks mean touching two times.For more information on contact symbols, see page 24.

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Your facefeels

like this:

Left Side of Face

Pretend you can see through the back of the head.You are reading and writing how your face "feels" when you sign:

know(mouth pushed up on the left side)

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Right Side of Face

Pretend you can see through the back of the head.You are reading and writing how your face "feels" when you sign:

Your facefeels

like this:

know(mouth pushed up on the right side)

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3 Basic Handshapes

ClosedFist

When the fingertips touchthe palm of the hand, it iscalled a Closed Fist.

A Closed Fist is writtenwith a square.

OpenFist

When the fingertips toucheach other, it is called anOpen Fist.

An Open Fist is writtenwith a circle.

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3 Basic Handshapes

Open Fist

Both the letter O andletter D in ASL are writ-ten with a circle for theOpen Fist, since the fin-gertips touch each other:

Closed Fist

Both the letter S andnumber 1 in ASL arewritten with a square forthe Closed Fist, since thefingertips touch the palm:

FlatHand

When the fingers stretchstraight up, and toucheach other, it is called aFlat Hand.

A Flat Hand is writtenwith a rectangle, with atip for the fingertips.

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Palm FacingFront View

The hand is parallel with the wall.

13

Palm FacingTop View

The hand is parallel with the floor.

space atknuckle jointmeans hand

is parallelwith the floor

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Palm FacingFront View

The hand is parallel with the wall.

15

Palm FacingTop View

The hand is parallel with the floor.

space atknuckle jointmeans hand

is parallelwith the floor

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Palm FacingFront View

The hand is parallel with the wall.

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Palm FacingTop View

The hand is parallel with the floor.

space atknuckle jointmeans hand

is parallelwith the floor

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Palm FacingFront View

The hand is parallel with the wall.

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Palm FacingTop View

The hand is parallel with the floor.

space atknuckle jointmeans hand

is parallelwith the floor

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Palm FacingFront View

The hand is parallel with the wall.

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Palm FacingTop View

The hand is parallel with the floor.

space atknuckle jointmeans hand

is parallelwith the floor

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Palm FacingFront View

The hand is parallel with the wall.

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Palm FacingTop View

The hand is parallel with the floor.

space atknuckle jointmeans hand

is parallelwith the floor

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school

Touch

Touch Contact is writtenwith an asterisk.

Touch is defined as thehand gently contactinganother part of the body.more

6 Contact Symbols

1. Touch 4. Strike

2. Grasp 5. Brush

3. In-between 6. Rub

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disappearAmerica

congratulations earring

Grasp

Grasp Contact is writtenwith a plus sign.

Grasp is defined as thehand grasping a part ofthe body or a piece ofclothing.

In-between

In-between Contact iswritten with an asteriskbetween two lines.

In-between is defined astouching between twoparts of the body, usuallybetween fingers.

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monthly

Brush

Brush Contact is writtenwith a circle with a darkdot in the center.

Brush i s def ined asmovement that contactsand then moves off a

surface.

hit clap

Strike

Strike Contact is writtenwith two lines crossingtwo lines.

Strike is defined as thehand forcefully contactinga surface.

excuse

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neat eager

RubIn A Line

Rubbing Contact in a lineis written with the samespiral symbol...but...thesymbol is connected with

an arrow.

When the Rub Contact

symbol is connected withan arrow, it rubs in astraight line (not in acircle). It moves in thearrow's direction, staying

on the surface.

coffee chocolate

RubIn a Circle

Rubbing Contact in acircle is written with aspiral symbol.

Rub is defined as contactthat moves, but stays on

the surface.

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6 Finger Symbols

1. Middle Joint Closes 4. Knuckle Joint Opens

2. Middle Joint Opens 5. Knuckles Open-Close Together

3. Knuckle Joint Closes 6. Knuckles Open-Close Alternating

KnuckleJoint

Knuckle Joint f ingermovements are writtenwith small arrowheads.

MiddleJoint

Middle Joint f ingermovements are writtenwith small dots.

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Middle-Joint

Closes

When the middle-joint ofthe finger closes (bendsdown or in), this closing

finger movement i swritten with a dark dot.

The dot is placed near thefinger joint that does themovement . Two dotsrepresent two closings.

Middle-Joint

Opens

When the middle-joint ofthe finger opens (bendsup or out), this opening

finger movement i swritten with a hollow dot.

The dot is placed near thefinger joint that does themovement . Two dotsrepresent two openings.understandeleven

huh? milk

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Knuckle-Joint

Closes

When the knuckle-joint ofthe finger closes (bendsdown or in), this closing

knuckle movement iswrit ten with a smallarrow that points down.

The arrow is placed nearthe knuckle joint thatdoes the movement. Twoarrows mean 2 closings.

Knuckle-Joint

Opens

When the knuckle-joint ofthe finger opens (bendsup or out), this opening

knuckle movement iswrit ten with a smallarrow that points up.

The arrow is placed nearthe knuckle joint thatdoes the movement. Twoarrows mean 2 openings.

boytwenty

send send-send

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Knuckle-Joints

Alternate

The fingers do not movetogether in a unit. Insteadthey move in oppositedirections. One moves up,as the other moves down.This is called alternating.

This alternating knuckle

movement symbol iswritten with two rows ofsmall arrows pointing upand down.

Knuckle-Joints

Open-Close

The f ingers movetogether in the samedirection, as a unit. Theknuckle- joints of thefingers open and close(bend up and down)together. This open-close

knuckle movement iswritten with one row ofsmall connected arrowspointing up and down.

goodbye why

fingerspell typing

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Up-Down Movement

Up-Down movement is parallel with the front wall.It is written with double-stemmed arrows:

Down

Up

UpDiagonal

UpDiagonal

DownDiagonal

DownDiagonal

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Forward-Back Movement

Forward-Back movement is parallel with the floor.It is written with single-stemmed arrows:

Forward

ForwardDiagonal

ForwardDiagonal

BackDiagonal

BackDiagonal

Back

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Right Hand MovesMovement with the right hand is written with dark arrowheads:

Movement To The SideMovement to the side can be viewed from either the Front View or the Top View.

It can be written with either single or double-stemmed arrows:

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Two Hands Move As One UnitWhen both hands contact, and move together in the same direction, theymove as one unit. The movement is both right and left. It is written with aneutral arrowhead, that is neither dark nor light:

Left Hand MovesMovement with the left hand is written with light arrowheads:

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Do not confuse these arrows:

singlestemmed

arrowsmean

forward

doublestemmed

arrowsmean

up

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excuse

monthly

eager

disappear

Straight

Movement

Up orDown

A double-stemmedarrow means thatthe movement isstraight up ordown, paral le lwith the front wall.The movement isflat with the frontof your body.

Straight

Movement

Forwardor Back

A single-stemmedarrow means thatthe movement isforward or back,parallel with thef loor . You arelooking down, ontop of themovement.

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The SignWriting Web Sitehttp://www.SignWriting.org

The SignWritingSite is an educational web site with over 300 webpages to explore. It includes a Library of Literature and freeSignWriting Lessons Online. Four ongoing courses are featuredteaching: 1.Symbols 2.Penmanship 3.Grammar and 4.Reading.Special features are posted twice a month by the system's inventor,Valerie Sutton. The Site also includes seven forums: the Sponsor'sForum, the Teacher's Forum, the Research Forum, the LinguisticsForum, the Software Forum and the SignWriting Email Forum.There are other sections, such as the SignWriting History Archives,Deaf Opinions on SignWriting, Questions & Answers, and web pagesfor the classrooms participating in the SignWriting Literacy Project.SignWriter Shareware and Fingerspelling Fonts can be downloadedfree of charge, and a Catalog Online lists SignWriting publications.

Center For Sutton Movement Writing Inc • a tax-exempt, 501c3 educational nonprofitDeaf Action Committee For SignWriting • P.O. Box 517 • La Jolla • CA • 92038-0517 • USADAC@SignWriting.org • www.SignWriting.org • voice: 858-456-0098 • fax: 858-456-0020