1887
  1. Home
  2. e-Journals
  3. Sign Language & Linguistics
  4. Volume 22, Issue 1
  5. Article
Volume 22, Issue 1
  • ISSN 1387-9316
  • E-ISSN: 1569-996X
USD
Buy:$35.00 + Taxes

Abstract

Abstract

Concerted attention in sign language linguistics has focused on finding ways to document signs. Until now, most notation systems rely on a complex plethora of symbols and are under-specific, to the extent that visual images are still the most widely accepted way of recording primary data. This paper presents a novel phonetic notation of handshape in a step towards deriving an International Phonetic Alphabet for sign languages, based on digit shape (configuration) and position in terms of reference coordinates, aiming at both readability and precision. It is sufficiently hybrid to allow for both accurate measurements and estimates of digit positions, thereby affording a way of representing handshapes suitable for lexicography, studying phonetic variation and avatar programming. Originally tailored to describe handshapes in South African Sign Language, it can also notate gestures. After discussing transcription methods and hand physiology, digit configurations are defined in terms of joint angles. Variations in configuration positions are then specified in terms of Cartesian reference coordinates.

© John Benjamins Publishing Company
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1075/sll.18001.weh
2019-10-09
2023-10-02

  • From This Site

    /content/journals/10.1075/sll.18001.weh
    dcterms_title,dcterms_subject,pub_keyword
    -contentType:Journal -contentType:Contributor -contentType:Concept -contentType:Institution
    10
    5
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Baker-Shenk, Charlotte & David Cokely
    1981 American Sign Language: a teacher’s resource text on grammar and culture. Washington, DC: Gallaudet University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  2. Bébian, Roch-Ambroise
    1825 Mimographie ou essai d’écriture mimique, propre à regulariser le langage des sourds-muets. www.apsa-poitiers.fr/doc/documents/bebian/1825-aj-bebian-mimographie.pdf. (23Mar 2018.)
  3. Brentari, Diane
    2011 Handshape in sign language phonology. In Marc van Oostendorp , Colin Ewen , Elisabeth Hume & Keren Rice (eds.), The Blackwell companion to phonology, 195–222. New York: Wiley-Blackwell. 10.1002/9781444335262.wbctp0009
     https://doi.org/10.1002/9781444335262.wbctp0009 [Google Scholar]
  4. Crasborn, Onno
    2015 Transcription and notation systems. In Eleni Orfanidou , Bencie Woll and Gary Morgan (eds.), Research methods in sign language studies: a practical guide, 74–88. New York: Wiley Blackwell. 10.1002/9781118346013.ch5
     https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118346013.ch5 [Google Scholar]
  5. Crasborn, Onno & Han Sloetjes
    2008 Enhanced ELAN functionality for sign language corpora. In Onno Crasborn , Thomas Hanke , Eleni Efthimiou , Inge Zwitserlood & Ernst Thoutenhoofd (eds.), Construction and Exploitation of Sign Language Corpora. 3rd Workshop on the Representation and Processing of Sign Languages, 39–43. Paris: ELDA.
     [Google Scholar]
  6. Eccarius, Petra & Diane Brentari
    2008 Handshape coding made easier: a theoretically based notation for phonological transcription. Sign Language & Linguistics11(1). 69–101. 10.1075/sll.11.1.11ecc
     https://doi.org/10.1075/sll.11.1.11ecc [Google Scholar]
  7. Eccarius Petra, Rebecca Bour & Robert A. Scheidt
    2012 Dataglove measurements of joint angles in sign language handshapes. Sign Language & Linguistics15(1). 39–72. 10.1075/sll.15.1.03ecc
     https://doi.org/10.1075/sll.15.1.03ecc [Google Scholar]
  8. ELAN (Version 5.2) [Computer software]
    ELAN (Version 5.2) [Computer software] (2018, April04). Nijmegen: Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics. Retrieved fromhttps://tla.mpi.nl/tools/tla-tools/elan/.
  9. Fenlon, Jordan , Kearsy Cormier , Ramas Rentelis , Adam Schembri , Katherine Rowley , Robert Adam & Bencie Woll
    2014 BSL SignBank: A lexical database of British Sign Language (First Edition). London: Deafness, Cognition and Language Research Centre, University College London. bslsignbank.ucl.ac.uk/. (13Sep 2018.)
     [Google Scholar]
  10. Friedman, Lynn
    1977 Formational properties of American Sign Language. In Lynn Friedman (ed.), On the other hand: new perspectives on American Sign Language, 13–56. New York: Academic Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  11. Hanke, Thomas
    2004 HamNoSys – representing sign language data in language resources and language processing contexts. In Oliver Streiter & Chiara Vettori (eds.), LREC 2004, Workshop proceedings: Representation and processing of sign languages, 1–6. Paris: European Languages Resources Association.
     [Google Scholar]
  12. 2010 HamNoSys – Hamburg Notation System for Sign Languages. https://www.sign-lang.uni-hamburg.de/dgs-korpus/files/inhalt_pdf/HamNoSys_06en.pdf. (23Aug 2018.)
  13. Hoiting, Nini & Dan Slobin
    2002 Transcription as a tool for understanding: the Berkeley transcription system for sign language research (BTS). In Gary Morgan & Bencie Woll (eds.), Directions in sign language acquisition, 55–75. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 10.1075/tilar.2.06hoi
     https://doi.org/10.1075/tilar.2.06hoi [Google Scholar]
  14. Honna, Nobuyuki , Okda Kanda & Mihoko Kato
    1984 A notation system of sign language. Journal of the Japanese Society of Sign Language Studies7. n.p.
     [Google Scholar]
  15. Johnson, Robert & Scott Liddell
    2011 Towards a phonetic representation of hand configuration: the fingers. Sign Language Studies12(1). 5–45. 10.1353/sls.2011.0013
     https://doi.org/10.1353/sls.2011.0013 [Google Scholar]
  16. 2012 Towards a phonetic representation of hand configuration: the thumb. Sign Language Studies12(2). 316–333. 10.1353/sls.2011.0020
     https://doi.org/10.1353/sls.2011.0020 [Google Scholar]
  17. Johnston, Trevor
    2010 From archive to corpus: transcription and annotation in the creation of signed language corpora. International Journal of Corpus Linguistics15(1). 106–131. 10.1075/ijcl.15.1.05joh
     https://doi.org/10.1075/ijcl.15.1.05joh [Google Scholar]
  18. 2016 Auslan Corpus Annotation Guidelines. https://www.academia.edu/29690332/Auslan_Corpus_Annotation_Guidelines_November_2016_revision_. (23Mar 2018.)
  19. Kakumasu, Jan
    1968 Urubu sign language. International Journal of American Linguistics34(4). 275–281. 10.1086/465027
     https://doi.org/10.1086/465027 [Google Scholar]
  20. Kanis, Jakub & Zdeněk Krňoul
    2008 Interactive HamNoSys Notation Editor for Signed Speech Annotation, 88–93. InLREC Proceedings 2008. www.lrec-conf.org/proceedings/lrec2008/. (18Sep 2018.)
     [Google Scholar]
  21. Kato, Mihoko & Nobuyuki Honna
    1989 A study of sign language writing system: an application of Sutton SignWriting System to Japanese Sign Language. Journal of Hakuba Kaki Genngo Gakkai Ronbunshuu [Hakuba Summer Institute of Linguistics]3. n.p.
     [Google Scholar]
  22. Kato, Mihoko
    2008 A study of notation and sign writing systems for the Deaf. Intercultural Communication Studies17(4). 97–114.
     [Google Scholar]
  23. Keane, Jonathan , Diane Brentari & Jason Riggle
    2015 Segmentation and pinky extension in ASL fingerspelling. In Eric Raimy & Charles Cairns (eds.), The segment in phonology and phonetics, 103–128. New York: Wiley-Blackwell.
     [Google Scholar]
  24. Klima, Edward & Ursula Bellugi
    1979 The signs of language. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  25. Koizumi, Atsuko , Hirohiko Sagawa & Masaru Takeuchi
    2002 An annotated Japanese Sign Language corpus. InLREC Proceedings 2002. www.lrec-conf.org/proceedings/lrec2002/pdf/318pdf. (10Sep 2018.)
     [Google Scholar]
  26. Konrad, Reiner
    2011 Die lexikalische Struktur der Deutschen Gebärdensprache im Spiegel empirischer Fachgebärdenlexikographie zur Integration der Ikonizität in ein korpusbasiertes Lexikonmodell. Tübingen: Narr.
     [Google Scholar]
  27. Kuar, Pushdeep & Parteek Kumar
    2016 HamNoSys to SiGML conversion system for sign language automation. Procedia Computer Science89. 794–803. 10.1016/j.procs.2016.06.063
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2016.06.063 [Google Scholar]
  28. Leeson, Lorraine & John Saeed
    2012 Irish Sign Language: a cognitive linguistic account. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  29. McKee, Rachel & David McKee
    2013 Making an online dictionary of New Zealand Sign Language. Lexikos23. 500–531. 10.5788/23‑1‑1227
     https://doi.org/10.5788/23-1-1227 [Google Scholar]
  30. Miller, Chris
    2000 Notationists of the world, unite!https://www.sign-lang.uni-hamburg.de/intersign/workshop2/miller/miller.html. (23Mar 2018.)
  31. Paabo, Regina , Monika Födisch & Liivi Hollman
    2009 Rules for Estonian Sign Language transcription. TRAMES13(4). 401–424. 10.3176/tr.2009.4.05
     https://doi.org/10.3176/tr.2009.4.05 [Google Scholar]
  32. Priest, Lorna
    2012 Towards a Unicode encoding for Stokoe notation. unicode.org/L2/L2012/12133-toward-stokoe.pdf. (20Mar 2018.)
  33. Prillwitz, Siegmund & Heiko Zienert
    1990 Hamburg Notation System for sign language. Development of a sign writing with computer application. In Siegmund Prillwitz & Thomas Vollhaber (eds.), Current trends in European sign language research. Proceedings of the 3rd European Congress on Sign Language Research, Hamburg, July 26–29, 1989, 355–379. Hamburg: Signum-Verlag.
     [Google Scholar]
  34. Schembri, Adam
    2010 Documenting sign languages. In Peter Austin (ed.) Language documentation and description. Vol.7, 105–143. London: SOAS.
     [Google Scholar]
  35. SignWriting
    SignWriting 2018 www.signwriting.org. (23Mar 2018.)
  36. Slevinsky, Steven
    2016 The SignPuddle standard for SignWriting text. slevinski.github.io/sw10js/assets/draft-slevinski-signwriting-text.html. (23Mar 2018.)
  37. Stokoe, William
    1960/2005 Sign language structure: an outline of the visual communication systems of the American deaf. Reprinted inJournal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education10(1). 3–37. 10.1093/deafed/eni001
     https://doi.org/10.1093/deafed/eni001 [Google Scholar]
  38. Stokoe, William , Dorothy Casterline & Carl Croneberg
    1965 A dictionary of American Sign Language on linguistic principles. Washington, DC.: Gallaudet College Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  39. Sutton, Valerie
    . N.d.A global writing system for a global age. www.valeriesutton.org. (23Mar 2018.)
  40. Tkachman, Oksana , Kathleen Hall , Andre Xavier & Bryan Gick
    2016 Sign language phonetic annotation meets phonological corpus tools: towards a sign language toolset for phonetic notation and phonological analysis. In Hansson Gunnar , Ashley Farris-Trimble , Kevin McMullin & Douglas Pulleyblank (eds.), Proceedings of the Annual Meetings on Phonology 2015, Vol. 3. doi:  10.3765/amp.v3i0.3667. (10Sep 2018.)
     https://doi.org/10.3765/amp.v3i0.3667 [Google Scholar]
  41. Vicars, William
    . N.d.Sign language: Dr. Bill’s ASL fingerspelling and handshape art. www.lifeprint.com/asl101/fingerspelling/abc-gifs/index.htm. (3March 2018.)
  42. Wehrmeyer, Ella
    2013 A critical investigation of Deaf comprehension of signed TV news interpretation. Pretoria: University of South Africa DLitt et Phil thesis.
     [Google Scholar]
  43. 2016 An annotation system for signed language interpreting corpora. Hermeneus17. 279–318.
     [Google Scholar]
  44. 2019 A corpus for signed language interpreting research. Interpreting21(1). 62–90. 10.1075/intp.00020.weh
     https://doi.org/10.1075/intp.00020.weh [Google Scholar]
http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/journals/10.1075/sll.18001.weh
Loading
Rethinking handshape
Sign Language & Linguistics 22, 83 (2019); https://doi.org/10.1075/sll.18001.weh
/content/journals/10.1075/sll.18001.weh
/content/journals/10.1075/sll.18001.weh
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): handshape; phonetics; research tools; SaNoSysH; sign language notation systems; South African Sign Language; transcription

Most Cited

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was successful
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error