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Writing Systems Technical Resources

Inventory of Handshape Characters in HamNoSys

The first five symbols, below, represent the basic shape of the hand, whether it is open or closed, and whether any fingers are extended. They are combined with diacritics to represent thumb position and bending of the fingers.

inventory-of-handshape-characters-in-hamnosys-1.png

The next set represents the position of the thumb relative to the fingers. They are combined with diacritics indicating the width of the opening between finger(s) and thumb, and the degree of bending of the fingers.

inventory-of-handshape-characters-in-hamnosys-2.png

Following are fingerspecifications. Each finger is assigned a number from 1-5, and this number is used to indicate which finger/s is/are extended / bent / closed to the thumb.

inventory-of-handshape-characters-in-hamnosys-3.png

This stroke indicates that the thumb is hidden between two fingers. It is used in combination with the fingerspecifications to indicate which fingers the thumb is hidden between.

inventory-of-handshape-characters-in-hamnosys-4.png

The last five symbols represent the parts of the fingers, for example, fingertip, middle joint, side of finger, etc.

inventory-of-handshape-characters-in-hamnosys-5.png

Separate sets of symbols are used to represent other features such as hand position, movement, and non-manual components.

This article formerly appeared on ScriptSource.