ASL-phabet

ASL-phabet, or the ASL Alphabet, is a writing system designed by Samuel Supalla for American Sign Language (ASL).

The ASL-phabet is based on the Stokoe notation, and like it is a phonemic script, but it has been simplified to the point where there is some ambiguity (homographs), that is, more than one sign spelled the same way. For example, whereas Stokoe has 24 letters encoding types of movement, ASL-phabet has just 5. However, the authors find that it is sufficient to look up ASL words in an ASL–English dictionary.

Altogether, ASL-phabet has 22 letters for hand shape, 5 for location, and 5 for movement. They are written in that order, with the possibility for several letters of each type, such as two handshape letters for a two-handed sign.

Like the Stokoe notation, the ASL-phabet does not encode facial expressions or mouthing, and so is perhaps not sufficient for extended text. However, Hulst & Channon (2010) note, "This system, much more than SignWriting, acknowledges the fact (rightly, we believe) that a written representation of a word does not need to be a recipe to produce it, but only to be sufficiently unique to act as a trigger to activate the relevant words in the reader’s mind."

References

• Harry van der Hulst and Rachel Channon, 2010, "Notation systems", in Brentari, ed, Sign Languages. Cambridge University Press.

External links

• ASL-phabet homepage, with an ASLphabet-to-ASL video input system and an ASL-to-English dictionary for children.

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