Viewpoints
Chapter 1

Viewing The Body
In Sutton Movement Writing, documents can be written from one of three different viewpoints: FullBody, Receptive or Expressive.


FullBody Viewpoint
FullBody movement is usually written in FullBody View, and is usually written left to right on a five-lined staff. The reader is sitting in the audience, viewing a person standing on a stage:


The performer (the mover) turns on the stage, as the reader remains fixed in the audience. There are specific ways to write facing straight front, facing the front corner, facing the side wall, facing the back corner, facing the back wall and lying on the floor.

In these lessons...
These lessons, teaching FullBody writing, will always use the FullBody View. You, the reader, are the audience, and the mover is standing on a stage before you.



Expressive & Receptive Viewpoints
SignWriting has its own unique viewpoints: Receptive and Expressive. Neither are the same as FullBody View.

The Receptive View was developed for transcribing signs from video, or writing a signer facing the reader squarely. The body is always seen straight front.

The Expressive View is the standard for SignWriting publications. It developed through the experience of skilled Deaf writers, who found that writing from their own perspective gave them a true writing system. The Expressive View is unique, because it views the signs as if you are standing behind another person signing and you are seeing through their back to see the signs from the signer's perspective. It is based on how it feels to do the movement yourself.

Within the Expressive View, there are two perspectives: The Expressive Front View and the Expressive Top View. Handshapes can be viewed, for example, from both the Front and the Top, all seen from your own perspective.


 

 

Questions? Write to:
Valerie Sutton
Sutton@SignWriting.org