Dear Dr. Bill,
I am left handed and I feel most comfortable signing with my left hand.
Are
there any definite rules on which hand I must use and will I confuse people
if I sign with my left hand?
Thanks
Sarah Allison
Hi Sarah,
Left-handed signers sign in pretty much a mirror image of how right handed
people sign. You use your left hand as your "dominant" hand. You use your
left hand for fingerspelling and any "one-handed signs." The signs you see
me doing with my right hand, you do with your left hand.
The exceptions to the "mirror" rule
are certain signs involving "directions."
For example, when you sign the general concept "LEFT"-(direction) you would use an "L" handshape
on your left hand (since you are left-handed) and move it to your left. When a lefty wants to sign the concept "RIGHT" (as in "the
direction") he or she would sign it with an "R" handshape on the left
hand and do the movement to the right.
Bill
Dear Dr. Vicars,
I began looking at your site with some interest, as I am a late deafened adult. Double disability for the late deaf, who are left-handed - and
there are quite a few, like myself. Even the Gallaudet books describe SIGNs as right hand this & left hand that. It isn't easy learning SIGN later in
life, but would help if descriptions stated dominant & non-dominant hands.
They don't have to be written out in full, once explained. Each time I read a description saying - left arm horizontal, right hand... I have to
say OK - rt arm horizontal, left hand... etc. Slow work. Thanks for your interest.
Good luck with the site...
Rosalie D'Souza
Rosalie,
I'm sure at least one out of seven people would certainly agree with you.
You make a good point.
Bill
Dear Dr. Vicars,
While it is kind of you to say that I make a good point and you are
obviously aware of the left-handed "community" I get the impression that you
have no interest or intention of making your descriptions
appropriate to the use of either hand rather than focusing on right-handed users. Of
course your diagrams & photos are fine, since lefties typically
mirror righties without difficulty. Can you not work toward dom & non
descriptions? I continue to be amazed that this is not being done.
Rosalie
Rosalie,
You are right. Forgive me. I've sat
here for way longer than I care to state mulling this over in my mind. I've
started typing various sentences that go about justifying my choice and then
backspacing because the fact is any reason I give you will not likely
satisfy you. So, suffice to say, I do very much care about people and
I do want to be accommodating, but I feel that "dominant/non-dominant"
terminology would have to be explained not just once, but again and again
(on every sign page) because there is no "one" entry point into an online
curriculum like this. Right-hand/left-hand terminology requires much
less explanation. But, I'll start moving in the direction of using
"dominant/non-dominant hand" terminology in my descriptions for
future entries.
Bill
Signing for lefties, "a matter of life and death?"
In a message dated 6/17/2005 10:38:22 PM Pacific
Daylight Time, clavimon@nd.edu writes:
Dr Vicars,
I'm relatively new to ASL, and I am left-handed. My
question is this:
Does it matter if I use my left hand in place of my
right? Does performing a sign levorotatorily ever affect its
meaning? Most ASL instruction I see indicates that the right hand does one
thing while the left does another, but if, say I signed "afternoon"
with my right forearm and hand on the horizontal and my left forearm
and hand at 2 o'clock, would that seem just as valid? I'd like to know
if I'm backwards before I learn too much that way!
Thanks,
Chad Lavimoniere
Hello Chad,
"Levorotatorily!" Geeze, now
that's a good word for
fingerspelling practice!
If you use the definition of Levorotatorily that means "rotating
to the left" then yes, it changes the meaning of a sign.
Sweeping or rotating of certain signs can be used to
indicate habituality, plurality, verb agreement, etc. For
example, "rotating to the left" the sign "your turn" would
indicate that it is the turn of a person (or absent
referent) on the signer's left.
But I don't think that is what you are asking. I think you
are simply asking "does doing a sign left-handed change the
meaning of the sign?"
Does the mere act of a left-handed person doing a sign with
his left hand impact the meaning of a sign in any way?
There are occasionally times when a strict
left-handed mirror image production of a sign would
impact the meaning of that sign.
For most signs, a left-handed person can and should simply
do a mirror image of the way signs are done by right handed
people. For example, a right handed person does the sign
CHILDREN by patting the "heads" of two imaginary children.
One of the imaginary children is standing in front of and
slightly to the right of the signer. The second child is
standing farter to the right of the first child.
When a left handed signer does the sign for CHILDREN, he
should do a mirror image of the sign done by a right handed
signer. Which is to say, the first imaginary child is
standing in front of and slightly to the left of the
left-handed signer. The second child is standing further to
the left of the first child.
And so it is for most signs done by left-handed people.
They just do a mirror image.
However, there are a few situations when the "mirror needs
to be broken" (heh).
Suppose you were with a group of deaf and lost in the big
city. People might start using directional signs like
"RIGHT" and "LEFT." A left handed person instead of using a
mirror image and doing the sign for "RIGHT" with a left-ward
movement would use a directionally appropriate movement.
Let me give a very specific example. Suppose you are
driving in the passing (left-hand) lane on a road in the
aforementioned big city and your left-handed passenger wants
you to "move into the right hand lane." He would not do a
mirror image of the right-handed sign for "CL:3"-"move over
to right lane." Because the mirror image would actually
mean, move further to the left = CRASH. Instead he would
move his hand in a directionally appropriate manner (real
world orientation) farther to the right.
So thus you see, this is actually a life-and-death matter.
Best of luck and safe signing.
Cordially,
Dr. Bill
In a message dated 9/18/2010 9:23:20 P.M.
Pacific Daylight Time, tsmullins@ writes:
Dear Dr Bill,
I know you are very busy, but I have one quick question, if
you have time. I interpret our church service for two deaf
children. I really enjoy working with the kids.
I am left hand dominant. I have had one of the step parents
tell me that to sign God with my left hand is wrong and
disrespectful. He also went on to tell me that any sign to
God should be made on the right side, for example praise
God. Could you please tell me if it is wrong to sign God
left handed? This really took me by surprise. I will talk
this over with some of my deaf friends at the next deaf club
meeting as well.
Shane Shane,
I'd be curious as to where this person is getting their
information.
I've been the bishop (branch president) of a Deaf
congregation for many years, I've attended "Sunday School"
countless Sundays in six states, served a two year mission,
and have been extremely active in the Deaf community for the
majority of my life. My opinion is that the "right" way for
a left handed person to sign "God" is to do so in a mirror
image of how a right handed person does the sign.
Cordially,
Bill
Also See "Right
or left handed signing"
Also See:
Left-handed
Numbering
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