Training sign language interpreters in Australia

Babel ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 207-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jemina Napier
Keyword(s):  
Sign Language ◽  
Spoken Language ◽  
Innovative Approach ◽  
Professional Practices ◽  
Sign Language Interpreters ◽  
Delivery Modes ◽  
Signed Language ◽  
Sign Language Interpreting ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Sydney Australia

Abstract This paper describes an innovative approach to training sign language interpreters, through a program established at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. The course is innovative because sign language and spoken language interpreting students jointly study key subjects, which enables all students to gain insight into the theoretical applications and professional practices of their respective working experiences. This component is particularly innovative as sign language interpreting programs are typically provided as language specific courses with little (if any) exposure to interpreting students of other languages. This paper will provide an overview of the program for both spoken and signed language interpreters, detailing the structure, content and delivery modes, with the aim of encouraging other interpreter educators to consider combining the teaching of all language interpreters.

scholarly journals Occupational Health and Safety For Sign Language Interpreters

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn Woodcock ◽  
Steven L. Fischer
Keyword(s):  
Health Education ◽  
Occupational Health ◽  
American Sign Language ◽  
Sign Language ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
American Sign ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Sign Languages ◽  
Sign Language Interpreters ◽  
Sign Language Interpreting

<div>"This Guide is intended for working interpreters, interpreting students and educators, and those who employ or purchase the services of interpreters. Occupational health education is essential for professionals in training, to avoid early attrition from practice. "Sign language interpreting" is considered to include interpretation between American Sign Language (ASL) and English, other spoken languages and corresponding sign languages, and between sign languages (e.g., Deaf Interpreters). Some of the occupational health issues may also apply equally to Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) reporters, oral interpreters, and intervenors. The reader is encouraged to make as much use as possible of the information provided here". -- Introduction.</div><div><br></div>

scholarly journals Głusi i tłumacze PJM o tłumaczeniu języka migowego w Polsce kiedyś i dziś

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (4(54)) ◽  
pp. 63-84
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Kalata-Zawłocka
Keyword(s):  
Sign Language ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
The State ◽  
Deaf People ◽  
Sign Language Interpreters ◽  
The Past ◽  
Sign Language Interpreting ◽  
Deaf Persons

Sign Language Interpreting in the Opinions of Deaf Persons and Polish Sign Language Interpreters The article presents the results of a research conducted among 12 deaf people and 11 Polish sign language interpreters, aimed at depicting the state-of-the-art situation of sign language interpreting in Poland while it simultaneously reflects upon the past as well. The interviewees reported on the changes in this area over the last twenty-five years. According to them, situation in Poland has improved significantly with regard to language, interpreting as such, legal-administrative and social issues. Still, in many respects sign language interpreting needs further improvement in order to attain full accessibility for deaf persons as well as full professionalisation for sign language interpreters.

“Switching caps”

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-52
Author(s):  
Lauren W. Reed
Keyword(s):  
Sign Language ◽  
Papua New Guinea ◽  
Individual Variation ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Spoken Language ◽  
Signed Language ◽  
Supplementary Material ◽  
Considerable Individual Variation ◽  
Port Moresby

Abstract Abstract (Australian Sign Language) Most bilingualism and translanguaging studies focus on spoken language; less is known about how people use two or more ways of signing. Here, I take steps towards redressing this imbalance, presenting a case study of signed language in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. The study’s methodology is participant observation and analysis of conversational recordings between deaf signers. The Port Moresby deaf community uses two ways of signing: sign language and culture. sign language is around 30 years old, and its lexicon is drawn largely from Australasian Signed English. In contrast, culture – which is as old as each individual user – is characterised by signs of local origin, abundant depiction, and considerable individual variation. Despite sign language’s young age, its users have innovated a metalinguistic sign (switch-caps) to describe switching between ways of communicating. To conclude, I discuss how the Port Moresby situation challenges both the bilingualism and translanguaging approaches.

Legal and Ethical Imperatives for Using Certified Sign Language Interpreters in Health Care Settings: How to “Do No Harm” When “It’s (All) Greek” (Sign Language) to You

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 114-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela M. Nonaka
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Sign Language ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Limited English Proficiency ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
The United States ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Sign Language Interpreters ◽  
Health Care Settings ◽  
Sign Language Interpreting

Communication obstacles in health care settings adversely impact patient–practitioner interactions by impeding service efficiency, reducing mutual trust and satisfaction, or even endangering health outcomes. When interlocutors are separated by language, interpreters are required. The efficacy of interpreting, however, is constrained not just by interpreters’ competence but also by health care providers’ facility working with interpreters. Deaf individuals whose preferred form of communication is a signed language often encounter communicative barriers in health care settings. In those environments, signing Deaf people are entitled to equal communicative access via sign language interpreting services according to the Americans with Disabilities Act and Executive Order 13166, the Limited English Proficiency Initiative. Yet, litigation in states across the United States suggests that individual and institutional providers remain uncertain about their legal obligations to provide equal communicative access. This article discusses the legal and ethical imperatives for using professionally certified (vs. ad hoc) sign language interpreters in health care settings. First outlining the legal terrain governing provision of sign language interpreting services, the article then describes different types of “sign language” (e.g., American Sign Language vs. manually coded English) and different forms of “sign language interpreting” (e.g., interpretation vs. transliteration vs. translation; simultaneous vs. consecutive interpreting; individual vs. team interpreting). This is followed by reviews of the formal credentialing process and of specialized forms of sign language interpreting—that is, certified deaf interpreting, trilingual interpreting, and court interpreting. After discussing practical steps for contracting professional sign language interpreters and addressing ethical issues of confidentiality, this article concludes by offering suggestions for working more effectively with Deaf clients via professional sign language interpreters.

On The Relevance of Signed Languages to Research in Interpretation

Target ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 135-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
William P. Isham
Keyword(s):  
American Sign Language ◽  
Sign Language ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Spoken Language ◽  
American Sign ◽  
Visual Channel ◽  
Signed Languages ◽  
Signed Language ◽  
Research Opportunity ◽  
The Difference

Abstract Research using interpreters who work with signed languages can aid us in understanding the cognitive processes of interpretation in general. Using American Sign Language (ASL) as an example, the nature of signed languages is outlined first. Then the difference between signed languages and manual codes for spoken languages is delineated, and it is argued that these two manners of communicating through the visual channel offer a unique research opportunity. Finally, an example from recent research is used to demonstrate how comparisons between spoken-language interpreters and signed-language interpreters can be used to test hypotheses regarding interpretation.

Survey on sign language interpreting in China

Interpreting ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiao Xiaoyan ◽  
Yu Ruiling
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Sign Language ◽  
Translation Studies ◽  
Chinese Mainland ◽  
Professional Issues ◽  
Sign Language Interpreters ◽  
The Chinese Mainland ◽  
Sign Language Interpreting ◽  
General Translation

Though research into sign language interpreting (SLI) has been recognized as an integral part of general translation studies, especially of interpreting studies, SLI is yet to make its way into the consciousness of translation studies researchers on the Chinese mainland. This paper presents data collected from two surveys carried out in China, one of the sign language interpreters and one of the deaf community, covering areas including the interpreters’ professional profiles, the SLI market, professional issues, interpreting difficulties, directionality, quality issues and the role of the interpreter. The paper ends with an analysis of the unique challenges facing the professional development of and research into SLI in China.

scholarly journals Sign language interpreting services

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maartje De Meulder ◽  
Hilde Haualand
Keyword(s):  
Sign Language ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Service Provision ◽  
Social Institution ◽  
Deaf People ◽  
Sign Language Interpreters ◽  
Health Care Settings ◽  
Education And Health ◽  
Sign Language Interpreting ◽  
The Impact

This article rethinks the impact of sign language interpreting services (SLIS) as a social institution. It starts from the observation that “access” for deaf people is tantamount to availability of sign language interpreters, and the often uncritically proposed and largely accepted solution at the institutional level to lack of access seems to be increasing the number of interpreters. Using documented examples from education and health care settings, we raise concerns that arise when SLIS become a prerequisite for public service provision. In doing so, we problematize SLIS as replacing or concealing the need for language-concordant education and public services. We argue that like any social institution, SLIS should be studied and analyzed critically. This includes more scrutiny about how different kinds of “accesses” can be implemented without SLIS, and more awareness of the contextual languaging choices deaf people make beyond the use of interpreters.

scholarly journals Occupational Health and Safety For Sign Language Interpreters

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn Woodcock ◽  
Steven L. Fischer
Keyword(s):  
Health Education ◽  
Occupational Health ◽  
American Sign Language ◽  
Sign Language ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
American Sign ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Sign Languages ◽  
Sign Language Interpreters ◽  
Sign Language Interpreting

<div>"This Guide is intended for working interpreters, interpreting students and educators, and those who employ or purchase the services of interpreters. Occupational health education is essential for professionals in training, to avoid early attrition from practice. "Sign language interpreting" is considered to include interpretation between American Sign Language (ASL) and English, other spoken languages and corresponding sign languages, and between sign languages (e.g., Deaf Interpreters). Some of the occupational health issues may also apply equally to Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) reporters, oral interpreters, and intervenors. The reader is encouraged to make as much use as possible of the information provided here". -- Introduction.</div><div><br></div>

scholarly journals The Signs of Silence – An Overview of Systems of Sign Languages and Co-Speech Gestures

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-144
Author(s):  
Emilija Mustapić ◽  
Frane Malenica
Keyword(s):  
Sign Language ◽  
Simple Form ◽  
Spoken Language ◽  
Linguistic Features ◽  
Sign Languages ◽  
Bona Fide ◽  
Basic Features ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Single Modality ◽  
Spatial Modality

The paper presents an overview of sign languages and co-speech gestures as two means of communication realised through the visuo-spatial modality. We look at previous research to examine the correlation between spoken and sign language phonology, but also provide an insight into the basic features of co-speech gestures. By analysing these features, we are able to see how these means of communication utilise phases of production (in the case of gestures) or parts of individual signs (in the case of sign languages) to convey or complement the meaning. Recent insights into sign languages as bona fide linguistic systems and co-speech gestures as a system which has no linguistic features but accompanies spoken language have shown that communication does not take place within just a single modality but is rather multimodal. By comparing gestures and sign languages to spoken languages, we are able to trace the transition from systems of communication involving simple form-meaning pairings to fully fledged morphological and syntactic complexities in spoken and sign languages, which gives us a new outlook on the emergence of linguistic phenomena.

scholarly journals Exploring deaf sign language interpreting students’ experiences from joint sign language interpreting programs for deaf and hearing students in Finland

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingeborg Skaten ◽  
Gro Hege Saltnes Urdal ◽  
Elisabet Tiselius
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Sign Language ◽  
Identity Construction ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Student Identity ◽  
Sign Language Interpreters ◽  
Deaf Identity ◽  
Sign Language Interpreting ◽  
Integrated Program

Abstract Integrated university programs for deaf and hearing sign language interpreting students are rare. In Finland, deaf interpreting students have been integrated in the only university program for sign language interpreting since its beginning in the early 2000s. This article investigates the experiences of the deaf interpreting students and deaf sign language interpreters (n = 5) who attend and have attended the program. We analyzed interview responses using critical discourse analysis and the concept of identity construction, and found that deaf interpreting students, despite some disadvantages, benefited from the integrated program. We also found three identity positions – competent deaf identity, student identity, and professional DI identity – and support for recognition (Honneth 1996) in both the solidarity and legal sphere developed through the program.

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