Left handed Signer

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Ok, I am left handed and I have noticed that as I learn sign I am torn from using my left or my right hand, sometimes I tend to rotate. Has anyone else that is left handed run into this?.. It reminds me of when I was a kid learning to use scissors, or learning to write.

I am wondering how others have dealt with this, do you force yourself to sign right handed, or try to stick pure left handed versions of signing.. or do you tend to rotate as well. This is what I have done with my mouse, I use it right handed mainly, but if I need to, I can use a mouse in my left. Scissors are the same, I can use left or right, but when I write, it is left hand only.

Also, how do others feel when conversing with a left handed signer, do you prefer them to "Pick a side and stick to it", or do you even notice/care?
 
One of my closest hearing friends is a leftie. I have no problems signing with her or any deaf person who's a leftie. What I DO have a problem with is those people who are ambidextrous..pick a dominant hand and stick with that. Anything else might confuse me. :scratch:
 
society's_child said:
One of my closest hearing friends is a leftie. I have no problems signing with her or any deaf person who's a leftie. What I DO have a problem with is those people who are ambidextrous..pick a dominant hand and stick with that. Anything else might confuse me. :scratch:
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It's because they're trying to hide from the witch-huntersl.

You know, being left-handed means you're a follower of Satan...

YOU'RE A WITCH
 
souggy said:
It's because they're trying to hide from the witch-huntersl.

You know, being left-handed means you're a follower of Satan...

YOU'RE A WITCH
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I take offense to this :( i am LEFT HANDED :( and i sign left handed.. and souggy and i are no longer friends....just kidding!:hug:
 
FxAvatar said:
Ok, I am left handed and I have noticed that as I learn sign I am torn from using my left or my right hand, sometimes I tend to rotate. Has anyone else that is left handed run into this?.. It reminds me of when I was a kid learning to use scissors, or learning to write.

I am wondering how others have dealt with this, do you force yourself to sign right handed, or try to stick pure left handed versions of signing.. or do you tend to rotate as well. This is what I have done with my mouse, I use it right handed mainly, but if I need to, I can use a mouse in my left. Scissors are the same, I can use left or right, but when I write, it is left hand only.

Also, how do others feel when conversing with a left handed signer, do you prefer them to "Pick a side and stick to it", or do you even notice/care?
Click to expand...

I prefer a person to pick a side and sticking with it.

When a person switches sides during mid sentence it can get confusing on where you put things in ASL (thats if you speak ASL.)
 
Like others, I don't mind what hand a person uses, as long as they are consistent with it. I'm still learning ASL, however, and left-handed fingerspelling is a lot harder for me to understand if the person signs quickly.
 
I'm right-handed as far as writing goes, and left-handed as far as eating with silverware goes. I usually sign with my right, except when my right hand decides to go on strike and not fingerspell properly, then I fingerspell with my left.

For me, I don't really care if people sign with their left or right. Use whichever works best for you. All I care about is making sure I understand the conversation :)
 
Society's_child said:
One of my closest hearing friends is a leftie. I have no problems signing with her or any deaf person who's a leftie. What I DO have a problem with is those people who are ambidextrous..pick a dominant hand and stick with that. Anything else might confuse me.
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See, most leftie's tend to become ambidextrous due to necessity. When you go shopping for scissors for example, you find right handed in 10,000 color/shape combos. You have to look in the far back, under a rock to find left handed ones that are available in ONE color/shape and if you are LUCKY are even sized for an adult's hand.
When I sign, I tend to mimic what I see. I find though it tends to confuse those that I sign to since they say it's like looking in a mirror, when I sign it back "backwards". Again, I have only been signing for about 3 month now, and have many years ahead of me before I can become anywhere near fluent in it. I just don't want to start off with the wrong foot.

posts from hell said:
I prefer a person to pick a side and sticking with it.

When a person switches sides during mid sentence it can get confusing on where you put things in ASL (that’s if you speak ASL.)
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Ya, I am still new sign, and plan/trying to learn ASL, despite I seem to be learning SEE since I was raised English and I try to sign the way I think. It is more of re-learning the order of things that will get me in the end.

TheWriteAlex said:
Like others, I don't mind what hand a person uses, as long as they are consistent with it. I'm still learning ASL, however, and left-handed fingerspelling is a lot harder for me to understand if the person signs quickly.
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LOL.. this is me exactly.. While practicing my fingerspelling, I have been doing it on both hands due to the fact that I have heard it is odd to read left handed spellers and it is in the "wrong area".. As for me personally, I am thinking about just forcing myself to learn and practice my fingerspelling right handed, after all, if I focus on it that way, I will not really think twice.. like my mouse that I use right handed. Also, thinking about it, for one handed signs that I do on the left, it could be interesting to sign AND spell at the same time (like I can navigate my mouse and write at the same time with ease).
 
I rotate...it's not like I am doing it on purpose...uhh...most of the time. I can try to force myself to pick one side, but it's awkward and distracting. Most people just get used to my way.

And btw, I am generally right handed...but sometimes my brain wired me like I am left handed. My sister even told me once that it took me long time to decide which hand to use to write when I was a kid.

Cross-dominance - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia is probably what I am.
 
Most naturally I sign right-handed but when I am caning right-handed, I have to sign left-handed. I know what you mean by feeling caught between signing leftie vs. rightie, though. It gets confusing sometimes! :giggle:
 
leftie here , uses mouse with right hand, kick ball with right, cook, eat, ear watches the right-handed ways weird think i might be amidexiterous
 
I'm a rightie and I sign leftie :shrug:
 
Well, it does not matter if you are left or right hand signer. It is up to you to feel comfortable to sign left hand like fingerspelling or making the sentences. No one force you to sign right hand if you are so use to left hand. I would be mad if someone try to change a person from left to right and it is hard on the person trying to write or sign right hand. Beside, I am right hand signer and I have no problem with Deafies who sign left hand. No big deal. :yesway:
 
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