How can I transcribe a sign language

[Plusquamperfekt]

Okay, here is the deal: I have never created a sign language before. I do not speak a sign language. I do not intend to learn one because than my conlang would not be a conlang anymore, but a relic of an existing sign language.

Instead of having phonemes, my conlang's words will be composed of the following features:

1. hand position
2. hand shape
3. hand movement
4. hand orientation
5. eye movement
6. lip movement

There will be three types of signs:
1. Sings with one hand
2. Symmetrical signs with two hands (both hands to the same thing)
3. Assymmetrical signs with two hands (both hands perform different tasks)

I am not sure yet if the number of different hand positions/ shapes etc. will be limited or unlimited. I don't know whether natural sign languages have only a limited set of possible hand gestures (just like natlangs have only a limited set of phonemes) or limitless inventories, but I am currently not planning to restrain the number of possible gestures that you can do with your hand.

Anyways, at the moment I am thinking that featural alphabets like Hangeul would be very un-intuitiative for learners of that sign language.
Maybe a logographic script would be more suitable for a signed language by far. But what do you think?

[Creyeditor]

David J Peterson designed SLIPA for this purpose.

[Salmoneus]

There is already an established transcription for sign languages: SignWriting.


And just to pick up on a few odd things:

- " I do not speak a sign language. I do not intend to learn one because than my conlang would not be a conlang anymore, but a relic of an existing sign language."

Presumably you also make a point of not speaking any spoken languages either, since then all your conlangs would just be relics of that existing spoken language?

- "I don't know whether natural sign languages have only a limited set of possible hand gestures (just like natlangs have only a limited set of phonemes) or limitless inventories, but I am currently not planning to restrain the number of possible gestures that you can do with your hand."

A limitless inventory is not an inventory. Sign languages are not just people impressionistically waving their hands around: they're languages, with phonemes and lexemes and syntax. The concept of a phoneme requires the concept of a limited number of phonemes: you cannot distinguish X from every possible Y if the number of possible Ys to distinguish it from is infinite. [of course, actual sign language utterances will involve infinitely varied realisation of phonemes involving features that exist on continua as well as those that are discrete; but that is also true of actual spoken language!]


More generally, I'm not sure that approaching any project from a point of intentional ignorance is really going to be that fruitful.

[Khemehekis]

More generally, I'm not sure that approaching any project from a point of intentional ignorance is really going to be that fruitful.

Plusquamperfekt, study LOTS of sign languages! Then it won't be merely a pastiche of ASL.