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From:
Valerie Sutton Date: Mon Mar 1, 1999 7:51 pm Subject: Re: Topic markers: an idea from Spain | |
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On Wed, 24 Feb 1999 Steve Parkhurst wrote: >At the beginning of the phrase we build a large square bracket that looks >like this: [ >with the facial expression above it. At the end of the topicalized phrase >(when the eyebrows go back to normal), we put another square bracket facing >the other way: ] >This tells the reader that everything between the bracket signs is >topicalized. This saves a lot of time for both the reader and the writer. >Steve :-) > >--------------------------------------- >Steve and Dianne Parkhurst > _____________________________________ March 1, 1999 Hi Steve and Everyone! What an excellent message about writing topic markers in Spain.... I wish you were here right now so I could show you what I am working on...I could use your feedback... I am in the process of completing and printing the intermediate and advanced reading books, written in American Sign Language (transcribed from videotape), for the teachers in the SignWriting Literacy Project. These books were 80% completed back in August, 1998, but then the documents were put aside. Now I am returning to complete these documents, print them, and ship them to the teachers. Once that is done, I will post them on the web in our library, as new literature online. Well...you can imagine...when I looked at them again after all these months... I have all kinds of new ideas and now I am so steeped in details that I suspect I need to print the books and send them to the teachers, and hopefully they will give me the feedback needed later. Some of the issues are the exact same issues you brought up in your message, Steve. Here are some of the questions I have come across: 1. How many facial expressions should we write, to be accurate, yet simple enough for children? 2. How many facial expressions should be written to give "atmosphere"? I know that seems like a strange question...so let me explain... In regards to "atmosphere"... Darline Clark Gunsauls, the teacher and native signer who signed the stories in ASL on videotape, feels that "smiling faces" are absolutely necessary in children's stories...in other words...even though the smile may not carry important grammatical information...Darline feels that "smiles" carry much more important information - namely "a positive feeling that is connected to telling stories to children". And I do agree with her :-) You may remember in Cecilia Flood's description of her work with deaf children, she mentioned "smiles" and how important they are for children's well being. The question I have is... "How many times should I include those smiling faces?" I am putting them in occasionally, and I am not always sure my choices are correct. That is why teacher feedback will be so vital...I am looking forward to seeing what happens when these intermediate and advanced reading books are presented to children. But getting back to your point, Steve, about the brackets. I like the brackets and I think they are excellent for detailed linguistic work. How do you feel about using brackets for writing literature that others will read for pleasure? I know you have already written quite a lot of literature. When you receive feedback from readers...please share their reactions with us...I am truly interested :-) Thanks for the extensive work being done in Spain - Valerie :-) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Valerie Sutton SignWriting https://www.SignWriting.org The DAC, Deaf Action Committee for SW Center For Sutton Movement Writing an educational nonprofit organization Box 517, La Jolla, CA, 92038-0517, USA ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
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