SignWriting was invented in 1974 by Valerie Sutton , a ballet dancer who eight years earlier had developed a dance notation named Sutton DanceWriting . [8] The current standardized form of SignWriting is known as the International Sign Writing Alphabet (ISWA). [9]
The SignWriting system is visually iconic: its symbols depict the hands, face, and body of a signer. And unlike most writing systems, which are written linearly, the symbols of SignWriting are written two-dimensionally, to represent the signing space . [7]
SignWriting is the only international writing system for sign languages. [2] It has been used to publish young adult fiction, [3] translate the Bible, [4] caption YouTube videos, [5] and study sign language literacy. [6]
SignWriting is used in 18 Federal Universities and 12 public schools in Brazil. [16] In Germany, it is taught to deaf adults to improve their ability to read and write spoken German. [17] There is also a German website dedicated to SignWriting. [18]
In 2003, SignWriting was used in a Brazilian Sign Language dictionary containing more than 9,500 signs, which was published by the University of São Paulo . [15]
In 2001, at the annual meeting of Brazil's National Association of the Deaf (FENEIS), the association voted to accept SignWriting as the preferred method of transcribing Brazilian Sign Language into a written form. The association strongly recommended to the Brazilian government that SignWriting be taught in all Deaf schools .
In 1996, Antonio Carlos da Rocha Costa, a professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), discovered SignWriter and introduced it to his colleagues, beginning Brazil's institutional use of SignWriting. [14]
Between 1986 and 1994 Sutton worked with a software developer to create "SignWriter", a word processor for SignWriting which runs on MS-DOS computers. SignWriter included an integrated sign dictionary, and support for multiple languages and countries. [13]
SignWriting has since been used to write the sign languages of 40 countries. [1] However, it is not clear how widespread its use is in each country.
Sutton's experience transcribing Danish sign language inspired her to work with Deaf people worldwide, helping them to write their own sign languages. She named the new writing system “SignWriting”. [12]
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