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"Alphabet"? "Syllabary"? How to categorise sign language writing systems? A Proposal.

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"Alphabet"? "Syllabary"? How to Categorise Sign Language Writing Systems? A Proposal The following article will assume the reader has a familiarity with sign languages, Deaf culture and sign language writing systems. Sources will be given where available. All of the sign language writing systems covered should be available in Zrajm's page (link below). I am in a weird nerd corner of the internet where we talk about sign language writing systems quite a bit. These are orthographies or notation systems used or proposed to write sign languages.  Another nerd in this space is collating a bunch of these sytems into a big page containing as many as possible -  Sign Language Writing (© 2025 Zrajm)  (WIP). My discussions and perusal of this list has lead me to some thoughts about how to categorise said systems. Looking at the above list, at time of writing (09/2025)  gives the following chart; This is a mixture of two separate scales - Linearity and Unicode Compatibilit...

You Are Overthinking Bigeneration: A Thematic Analysis

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You Are Overthinking Bigeneration: A Thematic Analysis I'm fully aware of the irony of writing a whole post about a topic while saying "you are overthinking it" - but I am a chronic over-thinker too. However, I mean "over thinking " as in applying logic to a problem - instead bigeneration should be "over felt ", applying feelings to it. I see discussion quite a lot here on Reddit saying "Bigeneration doesn't make sense!" or "Why did he do his emotional healing offscreen?" or trying to connect it to some logical framework. The main theory I see offered is as follows; The Dr bigenerates and 14 splits from 15. 14 has a whole separate life for a while. When 14 dies, he will be re-merged with the Dr and become 15. The argument for this is that the line; "I'm fine because you fixed yourself." ... implies 15 is in 14's future. People also argue other lines, or lines from the novelisation also support this. While this ...

73 Yards is Welshiest Episode of Doctor Who

 73 Yards is Welshiest Episode of Doctor Who I've been leaving comments on various places online, and I think its finally time that I put my thoughts to the page in one centralised place. 73 Yards, Episode 4 of the new Series is a masterpiece on its own. In terms of drama alone it has tension and character in spades. But I'm not just here to gush about Dr Who, I am here to gush about Wales. I am Welsh. I have Welsh family roots and moved to Wales when I was little. I learnt Welsh to fluency in school and was taught the stories and legends. I have written my own (published) stories and fanfiction in Welsh that utilises Welsh culture and folklore. It is a deep part of my identity and cultural outlook. And when I watched 73 Yards, it resonated with me on an equally deep level. In this post I want to talk about the following topics; What Happened?! Welsh Fae and the Far Away Woman. "Bloody Tourists..." - The Pub Scene Roger Ap Gwiliam, the Welsh Farage So Close Yet So Far...

AI Research is Scary... and Stupid

 AI Research is Scary... and Stupid We're all seeing the headlines. We are all seeing the hype. We are all seeing the videos. And many are seeing the research. AI is going... somewhere. If you want something to catch you up - I suggest these two videos I watched today. Both fully CCd. When will AI automate every cognitive job? AI 2027: A Realistic Scenario of AI Takeover I'm gonna come out and say - I am not an expert in this field. I am a linguist - with a bachelors in that field - which means I have insight into LLMs and their language capacity in comparison to human language capacity - but I am not an expert in coding or AI research. I have tried to keep abreast of the technological development. I was learning about neural-nets when they were a new-ish phenomenon. I saw the potential there and watched as it evolved. I have tried to keep my maths and science practiced over the years so the maths concepts don't fly over my head either. But if I get anything wrong in this a...

How Big Were the [Rainworld Spoilers]?

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How Big Were the [Rainworld Spoilers]? Spoilers for - Rainworld and its new DLC, The Watcher. I'm talking HUGE spoilers. I'll try my best not to spoil too too too much. But - you have been warned!! In the world of Rainworld, you are but a small slug-cat. You must survive in the ruins of a civilisation long dead - using only your natural cunning as a middle-of-the-food chain predator. But as you trapse through this corpse of a world - you may find yourself wondering - who built all this? Who were these ancient people? Well - for the deepdive on the lore of these Ancients I suggest you piece together the puzzle yourself, or find a lore summary by someone else, such as;  What are the Ancients? | Rain World Explained  or perhaps even  [OLD] A (not so) Brief History of the Ancients | Rain World Downpour Lore . Today I am here to try to answer one question only. How big were they? Seems like a silly question - but I think it is fun and illuminating. In the base game we have som...

Who can Teach LPSL and How?

 Who can Teach LPSL and How? ~ pilin mi ~ Firstly I want to start with - these are just some thoughts I have rather than the definitive word on the subject. I am simply a person with opinions. Hopefully reasonable ones, but opinions none the less. These should be seen as at most guidelines or principles than rules or laws. Summary of Principles mi pilin e ni: Sufficiently fluent hearing-speaking people should be allowed to teach LPSL LPSL should always be taught voice-off. Hearing-speaking people should defer to DHH and non/semi-speaking people where possible Other disabilities should be accommodated when possible People should be able to share facts about LPSL or help each-other in any way they feel is appropriate - while avoiding teaching Personalised teaching between two people can make its own rules Money shouldn't be involved, and if it is it should be DHH and non/semi-speaking folk that benefit Preamble Throughout this I may refer to hearing-speaking people ...