handedness/ambidextrous

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Ashli

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I am just starting out with some self taught sign language for working on with my hard of hearing baby.
I'm left handed and in everyday life there are things I use my right hand for that typical lefties don't - computer mouse, cutting food with a knife.. Since I've been practicing ASL i notice that I'm more comfortable doing some things with my right hand such as fingerspelling. It feels awkward for me to make the shapes with my left hand. Same with numbers. But then I noticed that when I was trying to form other signs that my left hand was suddenly the dominant hand and felt more natural. When I made the sign according to the instructions that's just where my hands went. Is it not okay to use my left hand as dominant for some signs and my right hand for finger spelling or dominant on other certain signs? Do I just need to consciously choose one as always dominant and be careful to always use it until I get used to it? Is there even a dominant hand for fingerspelling?
 
There is no rule that one must use either right or left hand as dominant hand. However, you should choose one or the other. It's confusing for the viewer if you constantly switch hands back and forth during a conversation. If you do want to switch hands because of overuse or pain, don't do it in the middle of a conversation but after a natural break, such as when someone else is taking a turn signing, then it's back to you.

It would kind of be like someone speaking with two different accents. Some words with an Australian accent, and some with a Southern drawl, all in the same conversation, changing every couple of words. Sure, you could probably understand them but it would be a struggle, and not a natural flow.
 
Yeah people usually have dominant hands in signing. But like Reba said, there's no "rule." It depends on the individual.

I know some people who are right-handed for writing and prefer to remain that way for signing as well.

I know a few people who are right-handed for writing but actually sign left handed most of the time.

I know a few people who are left handed for writing, still use their left hands for signing.

On the other hand, I know a couple of people who are left handed and their right hands are actually dominant in signing instead.

To be honest, I don't have a dominant hand in signing. I've always been ambidextrous in signing since I was a little kid. My dad used to scold me to pick one hand or the other, but I just never decided on it. I don't see anything wrong with switching your hands. It'd be a good idea to do it during natural breaks like Reba suggested though.

This is random and going off the tangent here, but I've always thought that ambidexterity is a good advantage to have anyways. I once broke my wrist when I was a kid, and I didn't have any problems with switching to my other hand for fingerspelling or 1 handed signs. Another advantage to ambidexterity in sign language is the ability to switch hands when teaching people sign language, to mirror whatever their hand preference is so they can learn to sign correctly with their dominant hand. For example if I know this or that person prefers to sign with their left hand, I can just use my right hand so they will copy my sign correctly using their dominant hand.
 
My username says it all but your dominant handedness is also your dominant signing hand. just make sure when you sign right and left you or east west that you go in the correct direction. so right you will still move from left to right across the body, a right handed person is moving out away from the side of the body for the same word

also words like Cop would sign with the C shape on the left hand over the right chest... though all badges are worn on the left chest..
 
I'm ambidextrous as well and teaching myself ASL also but I use my right mostly for writing so I sign mostly with my right
 
Thanks - I don't know why different hands take the dominant position for different signs. I didn't even realize what I was doing at first..I'll try to be conscious of it so that I make sense!
 
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