At 09:02 -0500 2003-12-11, Peter T. Daniels wrote:

>Michael Everson wrote:
>>
>> At 08:39 -0500 2003-12-11, cowan@... wrote:
>>
>> >In addition, the status of Blissymbolics, Sutton Signwriting,and Braille
>> >is debatable.
>>
>> Why? Blissymbolics are the *only* form of communication for some
>> people.
>
>Name them.

You want their personal names? I have personally
met any number of non-speaking people, cerebral
palsics mostly, who are unable to communicate
linguistically with their friends, families, and
carers without Blissymbolics.

> >SignWriting is alive and kicking and getting
>more and more popular worldwide.
>
>??

Nicaragua, Spain, Scandinavia, Germany, and
elsewhere, if that's what your question marks
were eliciting.

>It's a cult.

Nonsense. This comment is ignorant. SignWriting
is being taught to children in schools, who are
able to write their native languages with it.
This incidentally turns out to make it much
easier to teach the children a second language
and literacy in it. Volume 2 of The Irish Deaf
Community: The structure of Irish Sign Language,
by Dónall P. Ó Baoill and Patrick A. Matthews,
published by Institiuid Teangeolaíochta Éireann,
contains a glossary of ISL with SignWriting
orthography. This work also compares SignWriting
with HamNoSys and Stokoe and favours SignWriting
strongly.
--
Michael Everson * * Everson Typography * * http://www.evertype.com