Ok, I have this theory about left handed handwriting. We all know why lefties have so much trouble. That topic and its solutions are discussed on this forum in great length and detail. But I would like to propose a new solution. I feel all the current ideas about turning the paper and holding the pen a certain way are just workarounds for a more fundamental problem. Just to be clear, I see two main issues with left handed writing. First is seeing the text, along with smearing the ink. I will not address that at this time. Fix it however you like. But the second problem is the push versus pull. You see, all lettering styles I am aware of are designed for right handed people writing from left to right. When forming a letter the preference is to pull more than push. For a righty this is a left to right motion. Sure some letters have pushing in them, but it is usually kept to a minimum. So what I propose is someone develop a new lettering technique for lefties that allows them to pull more than push. Obviously the text still has to flow from left to right, but each individual letter should be comprised of mostly right to left motions. I believe this would solve most of the problems of bad handwriting and difficulty writing in general.

I am a lefty. When I was in elementary school my handwriting was bad enough to require tutoring and exercises at home. None of it helped. Now I am an architect and for whatever reason always write in all caps. My handwriting is still bad, but is much more legible. As a designer I have watched over the years as my letter formation has changed to accommodate more pulling. Some letters are a little weird looking, but most are still recognizable for what they are.

I figure there has to be enough people on this forum who have worked in lettering and mastered various styles and forms, that someone must be able to craft an entirely new format for lefties that retains enough recognizable letter patterns the righties would still be able to read it.

If you think back to grade school, there were lots of worksheets with giant sized letters. The forms of the letters were often shown with arrows giving stroke direction and numbers giving an order to the strokes. Nothing would make me happier than to develop a new set of forms just for lefties that can be taught in school. Finally the lefties can be on even footing in the handwriting department!!

Is there anyone to take up the challenge?

Tim

Welcome to FPN.

Well, the stroke order I come up with is pretty much the same as if one was right handed. All except A, E, F, H, U, V, W, X, Y, f, t, v, w, and x are the same. Most of the letters whose stroke order can be changed are symmetrical.

The problem is that not only the stroke order but the design of the glyphs assumes the writer is right-handed. If most people were left handed, then I think many writing systems would go from right to left. If something like a Latin alphabet were developed, it would be a mirror image of what we use here.

Another problem is that if one writes the letters listed above with a left-handed stroke order, one ends up on the left of the glyph, and then one would have to move two letter spaces to the right to start another letter. A word with such letters (like "HEAVY") would have to be written in little "Okazaki fragments," which is considerably slower.

Us lefties could all learn to write in Arabic or indeed Urdu (from the indian sub continent) which is from right to left, so mainly pulling. I am able to write in Arabic much easier and 'prettier' then letter from left to right.

I am a leftie underwriter who has the paper turned through 90 degrees and write "down" the page towards my body (still following the lines, if you see what I mean.This means I can see what I am writing and I dont smudge. It works - try it! Something else I have tried is writing from rigth to left on a page, but it strains the eyes when reading it back for some reason.
I am very proud of being a leftie and desperately wanted either my two children or one of my grandchildren to be lefties too - alas they are all commoners.
T

Commoners, What a hoot!



I feel the left to right problem is exaggerated a bit. A fountain pen is the easy fix, the pen floats on the paper,reducing or eliminating the dreaded 'dig'.
I underwrite but hold my hand at a slightly left angle,this positions the pen above the hand preventing smudge.and allowing me to see as I write.

I think we lefties also have less difficulty in fluent mirror-writing. Try it - it is a fun trick to amaze the "commoners"

Chris

edit: So how do native Urdu and Arabic writers manage? Are they predominently left-handed people, or have they already cracked the push/pull problem they would have writing from right to left with their right hand?

Most are right handed like the rest of the world. If they have cracked the push pull issue I don't knbow or perhaps its a secret not revealed to 'noble lefties'. But as a lefty myself I find it easier.

This is pretty much how I write - although my paper is not quite at a full 90 degree angle. I've only been a leftie for a little over a year due to arthritis in my right thumb. I had been a "commoner" all my life and when I first made the switch, I was very aware that I was doing a lot muore pushing than pulling. After over a year, it has become much more natural.

I guess I'm really a commoner/leftie hybrid since I still do everything but writing with my right hand. It's just when I grip something small (like a pen) that I have intense pain in my right thumb.

Judybug

Thanks Kubalai,

I had never thought about it before today, but I expected most people were right-handed, whatever their native writing language, race or culture.
So how did such languages come about being written from right to left?
Perhaps, before fountain pens, it was simply a 50:50 chance which way the written language went across the page.

Chris

I'd guess that most people were right handed even before written languages were formed.

This sounds exiting! Have you published your stroke order somewhere on the net?

Ok, so maybe some letters are harder to change than others concerning stroke direction. But what about cursive styles? Or more antiquated lettering forms? Not all letters look like their basic form when you apply various letting styles. Not being a highly learned person concerning various styles, the best I can come up with is cursive. Those letters look nothing like their typical Arabic (?) counterparts. I am sure I am using completely wrong terminology here. Please feel free to correct me. Either way, I am open to the idea of changing the look of letters slightly to make a corrected form for lefties. As far as I am concerned the forms we use now are just letters corrected for righties. Why cannot the lefties have their own styles?

And I still think the idea of turning the page is unacceptable. When we do other stuff left handed we do not have to change, we just do it backwards. When I bat, I do not hold the bat in a weird way. When I use scissors I do not use them in a weird or different way. So why when we write should we stand out and have to learn to write sideways or upside down?

I do like the idea that when using a good fountain pen none of this matters. When the pen is floating on that perfect layer of ink you really don't care if you are pushing or pulling. It all just feels so good!! I know I am not the only one here who loves their pens so much they want to write just because it feels so good.

So, is it possible to make a special set of letters just for us lefties? If you have any ideas, write it down and post a pic.

Tim

I alternate between overwriting and underwriting. Usually overwriting with ball pens and switching back to underwriting with fountain pens. When using fountain pens, underwriting has never been a problem even with fine nibs (Japanese fine and flexy dip pens). I don't rotate the paper and I don't get ink on my left hand as the nib of the pen touches the paper somewhere further away than where my hand touches the paper.

I have even come to think that the flexy scripts were somehow designed for lefties. I have always thought that using an oblique holder is somehow a strange thing to do. I would like to see how commoners use the flexible nibs such as the Pilot FA.

I've seen a few lefthanded alphabets in a calligraphy book. I think it was one of Margaret Shepherd's. Sorry, though -- I didn't really like those particular hands, so can't remember the title.

No. I don't have a working scanner at the moment.

I'm lefthanded and I wrote in chickenscratch print up until 8th grade. It wasn't until 9th grade that I actually took an interest in the quality of my writing, when I began to find writing an artistic thing to do. After that point, people began to comment on how I "wrote like a girl."

I remember in 8th grade English class when I used to do my work and then turn it in. Shortly afterward, the teacher would call me up to her desk and ask what I'd written on the page because she' couldn't read it. And in actuality, neither could I!