Jump to content

Righties Writing Right To Left (Hebrew, Arabic...)


ISW_Kaputnik

Recommended Posts

As a right hander, happy to accept whatever advantage it gives me in handwriting or the rest of life, there is something that I've idly wondered about for the past year or two. It came up again recently when I viewed an Israeli movie, Suicide, in Hebrew with subtitles.

 

In scripts where one writes from right to left (Hebrew and Arabic occur to me), is it actually an advantage to be left handed? In the movie, a detective takes notes on a case on a legal pad, using a wood pencil. At one point he mentions, apparently casually, how much easier he finds the pencil to use than a pen. He is of course writing right to left, but he is using his right hand.

 

I'm not thinking of the slow, deliberate writing of calligraphy, perhaps using a dip pen or even a brush, but the rapid, everyday, "good enough" writing involved in taking notes or writing a note to somebody. I have no intention of studying either Hebrew or Arabic at this point; I'm just curious.

Edited by ISW_Kaputnik

"So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable creature, since it enables one to find or make a reason for everything one has a mind to do."

 

- Benjamin Franklin

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 4
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • abstract49

    2

  • ISW_Kaputnik

    1

  • DaveBj

    1

  • ParramattaPaul

    1

Top Posters In This Topic

I have only the anecdotal evidence of my own experience. I wasn't using FPs when I was actually working in Arabic, but I have written some Arabic with FPs in more recent years. It never occurred to me that "this might be easier if I were left-handed. Maybe it's my weird grip, but I don't have any trouble with smearing.

Until you ink a pen, it is merely a pretty stick. --UK Mike

 

My arsenal, in order of acquisition: Sailor 21 Pocket Pen M, Cross Solo M, Online Calligraphy, Monteverde Invincia F, Hero 359 M, Jinhao X450 M, Levenger True Writer M, Jinhao 159 M, Platinum Balance F, TWSBI Classic 1.1 stub, Platinum Preppy 0.3 F, 7 Pilot Varsity M disposables refillables, Speedball penholder, TWSBI 580 USA EF, Pilot MR, Noodler's Ahab 1.1 stub, another Preppy 0.3, Preppy EF 0.2, ASA Sniper F, Click Majestic F, Kaweco Sport M, Pilot Prera F, Baoer 79 M (fake Starwalker), Hero 616 M (fake Parker), Jinhao X750 Shimmering Sands M . . .

31 and counting :D

 

DaveBj

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have been a little curious about the question, myself. And do right handed Hebrew and Arabic writers split into groups of "normal" and "over writers?"

 

Years ago, I trained myself to write backward, a la Da Vinci. I can write left handed in a pinch, but I didn't try it with this. I never tried to "overwrite," and the strangest part of the exercise was the feeling of pushing the pen rather than (mostly) pulling it across the paper.

 

If I can get him to respond (he's not the world's greatest communicator), I'll see what my brother's experience is. He spent many years in the Middle East (still does a bit), and he is fluent in about 19 Arabic dialects, and reads/writes the major forms.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just got an email from my frater. This is his commentary:

 

When I was learning to write backwards, I did attempt Arabic left-handed but was in the end more comfortable in the right, even going right to left. Can’t do it with a fountain pen (which frankly lends itself to the flowing script) because it smears since I don’t grip in an overhand fashion. So pencil or ballpoint works for me.

 

I think, yes, being a lefty would be actually an advantage for a Hebrew or Arabic writer – of course, those folks who came to it from western script and who have already adopted the overhand grip are likely to swear.

 

A lot of my friends from the region hold their pens more like calligraphy brushes which I suppose also answers the problem, though it must be tiring if you’re going to write a lot.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Being naturally left-handed I know that I found it easy to write (and read) backwards when I was first learning to write. I also naturally, as a five year old, formed my letters backwards to what my right-handed mother did. It was instinctive. My language skills do not include either Hebrew or Arabic, but from the perspective of being left-handed I can easily imagine that a right-handed person would face the same issues I do writing left to right. So, yes, I believe being left-handed would be an advantage for an Arabic or Hebrew writer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33494
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26624
    5. jar
      jar
      26101
  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o
  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More
  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...