Fingerspelling...which hand?

Tim7

Tim7

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Dear friends,

When I began to learn fingerspelling the manual alphabet, I learned using my right hand. However, I am left-handed. A friend advised me to switch to using my left hand to fingerspell. While I will certainly do so, I am curious to know why it might be important to use that hand, even though I seem to be able to fingerspell perfectly well with my right.

Is it a matter of speed? Dexterity? Accuracy?

Opinions and suggestions warmly welcomed,
Tim
 
I'd use my dominant hand since I have more dexterity there.
 
I'm left-handed and I sign with my left hand. when you sign with your left hand, you have to follow as you're doing with your right hand or else it'll go the opposite. alot of people noticed that real quickly and say.. oh you're left handed. it does bother them when you're doing it backwards so try to sign just like you're signing with your right hand. I can't sign well with my right hand.. that's my weakness there. when you're teaching someone to sign.. they think they have to use their left hand. Tell them to use whatever they're most comfortable with and just follow along.

I don't have a problem with my left hand as long as I stay forward not backwards.
 
I'm a right-handed and I sign with my right hand...but I have a wedding ring on my left hand, maybe I should start using my left hand to show off my ring? :giggle:
 
Lefties should fingerspell with the left hand, and in fact all signs should be swapped. So one-hand signs are done by the left hand, and two-hand signs use the left hand as the dominant hand.

If someone feels otherwise, please feel free to correct me, but we had a left-handed girl in my ITP and that's how she was taught to sign.
 
I'm kinda ambidextrous and I fingerspell with my right hand all the while being a lefty without being all that obvious about it. While yer mulling over that one, try this: Fingerspell "dog" on one hand and "cat" on the other. Lol!
 
My right handed goes for finger spelling...

Rest of both hands are using sign language!

Tousi's wrote:
Fingerspell "dog" on one hand and "cat" on the other. Lol!
Click to expand...

I've been there few times and sometimes get mistake.. Hard to think and try to spell different words..
:giggle:
 
Yep lefties use their left hand. I've seen lefties sign "left handed". They make signs in the leftward motion where a righty would have in a rightward and so on.

It's unusual enough to get noticed but it's not distracting or anything like that. Use your dominant hand or whatever feels most natural.
 
Consider myself as an ambidextrous. Using both hands for sign language and fingerspelling. Sometime I use left hand for communication while my right hand's hurt due to CTS.


For throwing and writing, I use right hand. one person have hard time to understand my fingerspelling with my left hand. he prefers my right hand.
 
i actually have the exact same problem.

i'm left-handed, but for some strange reason, i use my right hand for a lot of things, including fingerspelling. and when i sign something, i find myself switching back and forth using my right/left hand dominantly.

i use my right hand when i use scissors, play frisbee, and use a computer mouse.

very odd. should i consider myself ambidextrous??
 
Angel said:
I'm a right-handed and I sign with my right hand...but I have a wedding ring on my left hand, maybe I should start using my left hand to show off my ring? :giggle:
Click to expand...

:giggle: that is good one to make them attetion got their eyes from your sparkle wedding ring lol hahhahahaha :lol:




I'm right hand to use fingerspelling but for sign language that I use both hands :)
 
I would think that if you are left handed to go the same way as if you are writing on paper go towards right .... if this make sense... I have no problem with people using left hand can't change them. smile.. :cool:
 
Yeah you should use your left hand. The rule is dominant hand. Most people are right handed so people are taught right handed. But the rule is YOUR dominant hand, not the teacher’s. Your right hand is the subordinate hand in this case left is dominant. But if you feel more comfortable using your right use it. There was a study some time ago that being left handed or right handed is something that is decided in the womb and people should not try to undo it. Your brain is wired a certain way.
 
I write left handed but I fingerspell with my right. I also use different hands for different things. In softball I bat left and throw right. Soccer I kick with my right. I switch hands often when eating. I don't think my brain ever decided which side was dominant. lol
 
Canuckian_Chick said:
I would think that if you are left handed to go the same way as if you are writing on paper go towards right .... if this make sense... I have no problem with people using left hand can't change them. smile.. :cool:
Click to expand...

exactly.. that made sense
 
I'm left-handed, but I fingerspell with my right hand. I know I'm supposed to fingerspell with my dominant hand, but honestly, I'm so much faster with my right and it feels really weird to do it with my left. (shrug) As long as you can, I don't think it matters what hand you use.
 
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