Modern SignWriting

SignWriting is the universal script for writing any sign language. Sign languages are human languages based on visual gestures. Sign languages have proven to have many of the uses and benefits of other voiced and written languages, as well as other uses and benefits unique to sign language alone.

Modern SignWriting is a faithful encoding of SignWriting that is stable by design. It is based on the glass-box idea where all necessary information is available to understand input, processing, and output. We can faithfully predict the results of any processing without having to use a computer. The algorithms have been optimized for flexibility, accuracy, simplicity, and speed.

Revision Control

All development has moved to revision control with Git and is available on GitHub.

Status

Formal Specifications

The formal specifications of Modern SignWriting are nearling completion. The design is stable, but the documentation is incomplete. The main document is written in OpenDocument Text (odt) and also available as a PDF. I am looking for reviewers and plan to have the first draft completed by the end of January 2012.

Roadmap

Vision

A large and significant international community that is able to work together and share designs, tools, and general knowledge based on a formal specification.

Goal

A stable and complete specification for Modern SignWriting that has been reviewed by an international community.

Gap

The specifications are stable and nearing completion, but it has not yet been finalized. Widespread adoption is impossible without this formal specification.

Plan

Complete the documentation for the standard, enlist reviewers from the international community, and produce a final product for version 1 of Modern SignWriting.

Contribute

Collaboration should take place on GitHub or on the SignWriting email list.

About

The Modern SignWriting specification were created by Stephen E Slevinski Jr in collaboration with SignWriting inventor, Valerie Sutton. For the past 8 years, Steve has continued with his initial conception of SignWriting using a mathamatical model.

Through trial and evaluation, several intermediate models has been successively refactored to reduce the complexity and the computation cost of the implementations. Several generations of empirical data has been created by applying the model to real world situations. The consequences of the model has been observable by the senses. Problem areas and shortcomings have been resolved to create a robust solution.