  The SignWriting improved fast transcriber (SWift), presented in this paper,
is an advanced editor for computer-aided writing and transcribing of any Sign
Language (SL) using SignWriting (SW). The application is an editor which allows
composing and saving desired signs using the SW elementary components, called
"glyphs". These make up a sort of alphabet, which does not depend on the
national Sign Language and which codes the basic components of any sign. The
user is guided through a fully-automated procedure, making the composition
process fast and intuitive. SWift pursues the goal of helping to break down the
"electronic barriers" that keep deaf people away from the web, and at the same
time to support linguistic research about Sign Languages features. For this
reason it has been designed with a special attention to deaf user needs, and to
general usability issues. The editor has been developed in a modular way, so it
can be integrated everywhere the use of SW as an alternative to written
"verbal" language may be advisable.
