What’s the Matter with Interpreters?!
Right now I should be finishing a research paper for a class, then studying for two upcoming tests this week. But I’ve just had it with incompetent interpreters and it’s not like I can insert my rant into my research paper. And so, my rant is basically this: What the heck is wrong with interpreters lately?!
Why is it that so many interpreters cannot understand fingerspelling? Now, I understand my fingerspelling isn’t the best in the world, but seriously… Do I have to give a second per letter? How slow do I have to go? I don’t have the time to be s l o w in class or in a limited time situation. I just don’t understand. Maybe I’m too hard on others when it comes to fingerspelling, because the majority of the time, I know what the word is halfway through due to context. And I don’t need the person to slooooowly fingerspell it out. What does it have to take to improve hearing people’s receptive skills?
Speaking of receptive skills, it is truly strange to me that American Sign Language seems to be the only language where students, particularly hearing students, tend to have better expressive skills than receptive skills. In every other language, it is the other way around, and if someone’s expressive skills are better than their receptive skills, usually that would be just cause for a battery of psychological and neurological tests to find out what’s wrong!
Then we have the problem of when it comes to general academic terms, many interpreters show their lack of education by not being able to interpret the concepts properly into ASL. Half of the time, they fingerspell the word when there is a sign for it, and the other half of the time, they use the wrong sign.
I actually had an interpreter this semester who signed role call instead of roll call, and the way the interpreter signed call was the sign that meant summon in English. So I’m sitting there going, “Role summon?” then a light bulb went off in my head, “Ohhhh. Roll call.”
I’m fortunate that I have a good grasp of the English language, so I’m able to compensate for the interpreter’s incompetency, but you know, it gets tiring. This is exactly why I want an interpreter who has a minimum of a Bachelor degree and a QA 3. My ideal interpreter would have a Master degree and be RID Certified. Those interpreters who have those credentials are truly the only ones who can keep up with me and appropriately voice for me, matching the register, intent and mannerisms of what I’m saying.
That interpreter who made the roll call error had a QA 2, which is the intermediate qualification an interpreter can have here in Michigan. I ended up having to fire her. I gave her ample opportunities to recuse herself and I was hoping she would just recuse herself and save us the agony of having me to fire her… but nooooo. She had to stick it out, causing me to fire her. Talk about an awkward situation.
That’s another thing I don’t understand about interpreters. Why are there so many interpreters who refuse to recuse themselves, when they know damn well that they should?! It’s part of the code of ethics, but I see so many interpreters who are out of their league, and they just stay there, and do a half-assed job. It makes the interpreter look bad, and it makes the Deaf client look bad, when the interpreter can hardly voice for the client!
Right now, I’m scratching my head, wondering how the heck those interpreters passed the QA test. Something is very wrong with the Michigan QA test. It wasn’t like this when Chris Hunter ran the Division on Deafness and Hard of Hearing. Interpreters were truly qualified… and now… they aren’t.
*sighs*
28 Comments
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Candy said,
March 17, 2008 at 9:26 pm
Tell me about it! I had to re finger spell something more than once on VP with VI (video interpreter). I was like, ??? is it me or them? I think it’s them!
Deaf Pixie said,
March 17, 2008 at 9:35 pm
Deaf Pundit,
Yeah, Exactly I had a small court for my daughter in the past of month ago.. intepreter show up and his fingerspelling! We did not able to reschedule. The people at small court have trouble to reach the agencies and keep absent and absent.
My husband did called the court to let them know he has been waiting for almost 6 months .. They realized the agencies has not able to find.. Hired bad interprter.
I told him that you should call agencies to let them know first before called agencies. The mess up. I cannot fix it ..
it was not very well communicate.. I dont know why it has been hassle for long time.
Ann_C said,
March 17, 2008 at 9:44 pm
I’m not the greatest signer myself, but I empathize with you, DP, as your education efforts hinge a great deal on the quality of the interpreters’ abilities. Perhaps the laxity of QA standards have to do with the demand outstripping the supply of interpreters available?
Many who become interpreters earn better pay in the telecommunications industry unfortunately. And as Candy has indicated, even some interpreters working VP with VI suck.
Bill said,
March 17, 2008 at 10:22 pm
That certainly is the most difficult receptive aspect of ASL so far for me – the finger spelling. So many vlogs, I can’t even tell that there are words in there!
It really sucks for you at this point, but the only way I can think to make it better for the future, is to get kids started on it much earlier. My kids remember the sign alphabet they learned in 3rd grade. But that’s all the farther it went, and with little exposure to deafness or ASL beyond that, where would even the thought of being an interpreter for the deaf come from?
–//–
I can’t imagine how much easier learning sign would be if I learned it as a kid, and not at 42 years old! Of course when I was growing up, it was probably against the “law” to use ASL in GR!).
A Deaf Pundit said,
March 17, 2008 at 10:34 pm
You would not have been able to learn ASL back then, because it was definitely hidden from view.
Anonymous said,
March 17, 2008 at 11:22 pm
Generally, non-CODA interpreters have not been visually oriented all their lives.
Some interpreters are ASL interpreters. Which means what? ASL means signing and very
little fingerspelling.
Therefore, you would have to look for an interpreter who specialises in Signed English in that it is SSWEF per se — short for “Signing Supported by Written English and Fingerspelling”).
Most interpreters in DC specialise in ASL. They do not understand my Signed English in that I fingerspell a great deal.
May I suggest that you invite some interpreters to your home for dinner, so you would become acquainted with them and test their comprehension of your sign language. Ask them as many questions as humanly possible to know which interpreter who understands receptive ASL or Signed English. In my opinion, you should look for an interpreter who is proficient in SSWEF.
Meanwhile, I wish you a very productive and constructive spring semester at school.
Dennis L. Simpson said,
March 17, 2008 at 11:41 pm
Anonymous said:
“ASL means signing and very little fingerspelling.”
Are you kidding me? This is the most atrocious ignorance about the ASL itself! You have no right to determine the aspects of ASL. It doesn’t matter if you claimed that you’ve already studied ASL or not, since you used SEE as your main “false” language therefore you are biased.
The reason many interpreters are having hard time reading fingerspellings, based on my experiences, are simply too lazy. Not only the interpreters, the deaf people are affected, too.
Kate said,
March 18, 2008 at 12:37 am
That sounds like a frustrating and horrible experience, for both of you. I bet she cried, if that makes you feel better. I bet she felt that she has wasted years of her life on sign language for no purpose.
Post some vlogs so people can see and practice from YOUR style of ASL. Become a QA Evaluator. Seriously, I bet they need them. There are 5 ITPs in the state. That’s a lot of people taking the QA every year. I can’t believe there is STILL an interpreter shortage!
Interpreter MA said,
March 18, 2008 at 12:43 am
I am an interpreter that is certifed by RID CI/CT and NIC Master, with a Masters degree in Linguistics, and I am currently working on my Doctorate. I am not a CODA.
Interpreters should at the very least be equally educated to or above the clients they work with. This can be an issue as so many interpreters enter the field with very little education or knowledge of the field. Recently an interpreter I know was working with a very well-educated (Doctorate level) deaf person. The interpreter did not even have an AA degree. Needless to say, she was out of her league, and everyone there knew it. I pulled her aside and asked her what she was doing there. Her response was that the agency would not have sent her if they did not think she was able and the deaf person would not have accepted her if she was not confident in the interpreter either. Therefore, she decided to stay at the assignment, believing that these other people would magically be able to aide her in the horrific job she was doing. At this conversation, I spoke up and said “let me be the first to tell you, you are not capable of doing this job and you need to leave.” I have since arranged a mentor for her. The problem is that when no one speaks up, the interpreters assume they are doing a good job and keeps doing it until someone tells them:
1. What is wrong
2. How to fix it
3. Gives examples of their mistakes
4. Tells them what to do instead
Interpreters should recuse themselves if they are not qualified. Someone just needs to tell them sometimes, “You are not qualified.” FYI the Code of Ethics is no longer in effect from RID. It is now called the “Code of Professional Conduct” (CPC).
As far as fingerspelling reception goes, there are some things deaf people can do to improve reception of their interpreters…
First, enunciate your fingerspelling. Do not sign to the interpreter like you are talking to Johnny back at the school for the deaf. Do not spell to them like they are 2 years old and are incapable of understanding simple concepts. Instead, spell the words as a whole and make sure you are being as clear as you would expect the interpreter to be to you.
Second, context is king!! If they are not getting it, then give them some context. Like spelling MACINTOSH might be accompanied by saying it is a type of computer and a type of apple MACINTOSH. If you expect them to get the words by context then make sure the context is happening on your hands and not in some internal conversation in your head… of course you know what you are talking about, just make sure they do as well.
If it is an important situation then you, yes YOU, had better arrange to meet the interpreter beforehand and tell them what you will say (whether or not they want to hear it). Remember, if this is the first time the hearing person has met you and the interpreter sounds like an idiot, it will reflect badly on you, not on the interpreter. In other words, when voicing like a fool, the audience often assumes it is the deaf person that is the fool, not the interpreter.
Finally, when talking to interpreters, fingerspell to them often if that is part of your normal discourse style. If you want them to get good at it, then you had better give them plenty of practice because little hubby or wifey at home will probably not sit down everyday to practice spelling words to them.
When dealing with a VP, that adds an extra challenge on top of everything. If your setup is not well lit, close to the camera, in focus, with a very fast internet connection (not the cheap high-speed dsl) then you have no one to blame but yourself for poor interpretation. If you cannot take the time to set things up right, do not assume the interpreter will be able to see you at all. Even if everything is set up perfectly and you are very clear and enunciate your fingerspelling, there can still be problems. The fastest VP right now goes at a max of 30 frames per second. If your fingerspelling is clear and superfast then you may only be sending every other letter to the interpreter. Even the best interpreters cannot voice what they do not see. This means you have to slow down your spelling slightly to accommodate the technology limitations. Yes, I know there are other issues with VRS, but this is at least one you can directly affect.
Lantana said,
March 18, 2008 at 1:28 am
I don’t ask for terps very often, but the ones I HAVE had the last few years have gone overboard for me.
For my cataract surgery 2 years ago, the terp actually asked me if I wanted ASL or “both”. ASl is quicker, so I chose that one and after all I was going to have one eye covered! This terp made sure that we had good ommunication before we even started out.
My one and only gripe is when the terp has another appointment right away and has to call in for someone else. ‘Cold Turkey”. Seems like they are always in a hurry!
As an older person who never had any interpreters FOR ANYTHING (Including the birh of my 5 children), I always hesitate to gripe because it is a true luxury to have a terp at all.’Lousy, late, a non stop chatterbox, etc, it still better than none at all.
I have arthritis in my fingers, so the fingers move slowly and I do not blame the terps for asking me to repeat. I occasionally ask THEM to do the same.
Lantana
deb ann said,
March 18, 2008 at 3:44 am
Glad you brought it up. One interpreter can’t read my spelling via VRS and that time it was a serious situation. I was talking with the diabetes doctor for my daughter, so I had to hang up and did it again and the next interpreter was so much bettter!
Anne Marie said,
March 18, 2008 at 4:06 am
“The reason many interpreters are having hard time reading fingerspellings, based on my experiences, are simply too lazy.”
Frustrating feelings are understandable. The truth is many ASL second language learners have hardest time with fingerspelling even when they become fluent close to perfect signers. Not only fingerspelling is fine motor skills, it takes long time for brain to wire smaller details of handshapes and transition from letter to next letter.
When teaching fingerspelling in ASL classes, for expressive part, I do not only teach how to spell on letter to letter basis, I show students how to handle wrist movements for J, H, P, Q, etc and also to keep movement of two similar letters smaller so that they fingerspell with grace.
For receptive, I keep on practicing with many similar 3 to 4 lettered words – names i.e. Tom – Tim, Ana – Anna, Pat – Pam. This kind of exercise has to keep on go on and on, actually forever for many ASL second language signers, same for people who try to learn how to produce and be able to understand spoken language with odd phonetic sounds. It takes time for vocal cords to coordinate them and also for brain to wire thoroughly so that they become more discernible.
One other area of fingerspelling, interpreters, teachers, and professionals in Deaf fields need to develop receptive skills and also knowledge of many English words have closely similar meanings.
Speaking of interpreters’ education background, yes for college level, at least B.A. degree is a must, no question. I keep on hearing how beautiful signers at interpreter training program near here get kicked out just because of their weak academic background. I really appreciate these trainers so that we will not look bad.
A Deaf Pundit said,
March 18, 2008 at 7:35 am
Fingerspelling is a very important part of ASL, especially academic ASL. This particular class I’m having trouble with the interpreters in, is especially tough, because it’s a major course and there are a lot of formal and professional terminology. So I fingerspell those words out, because the terp’s too damn slow so we can quickly agree for a sign for that class only!
And yeah, I make efforts to slow down my fingerspelling for the interpreters, but how slow do I have to get? RID certified interpreters understand me when I pace my fingerspelling, but so far, not the QA ones in the last two years.
Unfortunately, I can’t pick my interpreters, since it’s an university thing.. But I am going to tell the interpreter coordinator for next semester, I want all of my terps to be RID certified, period. And thanks for reminding me about the CPC. I forgot it changed.
#9, your suggestions are good, and I’ve already used a lot of them. That’s why I ended up firing the first one.
And Kate, nah. I don’t feel better. She probably did cry afterwards. She was nice, and I hate to do that. It’s such a hassle for everyone involved and it shouldn’t happen in the first place.
Kurt said,
March 18, 2008 at 9:19 am
“What does it have to take to improve hearing people’s receptive skills?”
I honestly don’t know Deaf Pundit, but if you find out then please let me know. I am in an interpreter training program at this moment. One of the problems that I see is that students aren’t required to mix it up in the Deaf community. I understand your concerns and it is my ambition to become the best interpreter that I can become.
Yes I have seen the same in interpreters, but can I please just let you know that it absolutely frustrates me when I see an incompetant interpreter. I went to a forum lead by one of my Deaf teachers in which the interpreters were missing things that I was picking up. I am not even an interpreter yet and these were supposedly “qualified” interpreters. It was frustrating to be because I realized that the students in attendance that didn’t know sign were not getting the same information that I was receiving.
Fingerspelling is a challenge to many hearing students that didn’t grow with the language of ASL. It is just something that takes extensive practice. Yes, it is true that many don’t have the visual acuity developed to always pick up on fingerspelling. My only solution so far is to do my best to immerse myself into Deaf conversations, chats, etc. in order to better my receptive skills related to fingerspelling.
As far as interpreters fingerspelling instead of using the sign associated with it, well I have seen many Deaf individuals do that same. I am not excusing anyone, I am just saying that I have seen it both ways. May I also say, that I have seen some CODAs that are inept at fingerspelling and some that are just plain lazy signers (terrible sign formation).
Deaf Pundit, I do understand your point of view and I agree with you about incompetant interpreters. I hope that someday I will be an interpreter that can be relied upon by those that are fed up with interpreters that are doing the work just for the sake of the work. I want to be one of the best and one that can be counted on to relay the message properly.
Thanks,
Kurt
White Ghost said,
March 18, 2008 at 10:04 am
DP –
I understand your situation you are facing.
Many speakers have spoken their own different accents that have made many interpreters to face some difficult situation to comprehend theirs.
I.E., Some speakers are using their own southern accents that reach us to understand their own speech.
That’s reason why many interpreters did their best to make sure they understand the speakers and the accents *BEFORE* they sign.
We do have our different sign language, too. We are responsible to make sure *WE* understand the interpreters.
It’s a challenging job.
Good Blog, through, DP.
Jean Boutcher said,
March 18, 2008 at 12:19 pm
Dennis L. Simpson Says:
March 17, 2008 at 11:41 pm
You confuse Signed English with SEE. SEE is the combination of both SEE#1 and SEE#2, so, for the sake of linguistics, please keep Signed English and SEE strictly separate.
The former name of Signed English is PSE. Linguist Woodward of Gallaudet (1975), who coined “PSE” in 1970s, has observed that Gallaudet’s DOD professors use PSE (Signed English.)
Woodward is correct in this regard in that my deaf parents were Gallaudet-oriented and used Signed English. Teachers at the Maryland School for the Deaf learned Signed English in the graduate school at Gallaudet from Dr. Elisabeth Peet and Dr. Elisabeth Benson. Thus students, including my mother, attending the MSD exposed Signed English to students who, in turn, exposed it to their children, including myself and my hearing sister.
ASL users convert written words into signs. For example, ASLers sign “jb,” “bk,” “bs”, “suway”, “hw”, for job, bank, bus, subway, how , based on Gallaudet’s linguists’s observation of videotapes wherein deaf people use ASL.
Example:
(Note: uncapitalised = fingerspelling)
SIGNED ENGLISH (old name: PSE)
I HAVE NOT seen him FOR TWO weeks.
I HAVE been studying GREEK ALL DAY.
SEE (combination of SEE#1 and SEE#2*
I v NOT SEE-n HM FOR TWO WEEK-s
I v B-n STUDY-i-i GREEK ALL D.
I must repeat: SEE is NOT Signed English.
On the continuum, Signed English is the closest to English. ASL is exactly opposite
on the end of the continuum. SEE is somewhere in the middle of the rope.
Nota bene: Whereas Signed English has been utilised for over two centuries. SEE#1 and SEE#2 were invented by Dr. Gerilee Gustasson respectively in the early 1970s.
Gally82NYU84 said,
March 18, 2008 at 12:29 pm
Sometimes deaf folks just need to speak up other wise these terps will think they are doing ok. Constructive feedback and ask for a replacement.
As for the state of Michigan, we’ve had our share of good and bad terps for a long time, even when CH was here. The vp centers just made the situation worse because a lot of the better ones went to work for Sorenson leaving the rest to the deaf community centers
Godelieve said,
March 18, 2008 at 12:42 pm
Thank you for putting the rant out here! As a student of Dutch Sign Language, I am attempting with variable degrees of succes to read up on Deaf issues and your blog is a veritable fountain of information (not joking) even if it does concern ASL. Would it be ok if I brought your blog entry into my Interpreting class (where we discuss everything relating to sign language interpreting without actually interpreting ourselves); we will be asked to discuss / create our own ’student sign language interpreter code’ soon and I would love to enter your requirements as goals to be aspired to.
Grtz,
Godelieve
A Deaf Pundit said,
March 18, 2008 at 1:19 pm
Hi Godelieve,
Go ahead. Glad my blog will be able to help others.
Kelly said,
March 18, 2008 at 4:54 pm
I am in agreement with both Interpreter MA and Kurt. I am an interpreter with a CT and I have an associates degree in interpreting. I am not a CODA, but my husband is Deaf and we have been happily married for 9 years. I am dealing with the frustration of future interpreters lack of skills. They are not required to socialize within the community anymore and most of them have never been around “real live Deaf people!” It’s appalling!
Curious Eyes said,
March 18, 2008 at 5:16 pm
hey there DP. I feel your pain on this issue. My college days are long behind me (thank God!), and since I was just learning ASL myself, I wasn’t too fussy about quality. Like someone else said, after going without one for so long, it was a blessing just to have one, even if somewhat inept. Fast forward, hmm, let me see … goodness, can it be almost 28 years later? — I’ve become way more picky now that I’ve been exposed to some damn good interpreters. It’s all their fault that my standards have risen so high that I’m difficult to please. heh.
anyway, one thing I’ve done that helps the interpreter is to write out the names of technical terms, specialized jargon, and big words ahead of time, and give them to the ‘terp to study. If a college interpreter doesn’t have the background to interpret college-level courses, then he or she will have to study right along with you.
The reason some interpreters don’t sign the correct concept is because they don’t have enough “lag time.” This is the time period between which they first hear something, decide on the right sign that matches the concept, and signs it to you. It’s common for transliterators to interpret word-for-word without thinking about what they’ve just heard. I’ve heard that one thing ITPs focus on is developing memory skills to hold long chains of info in working memory for later translation.
have you thought about CART and an interpreter? I don’t know if your school will provide both, or if you can only have one.
A Deaf Pundit said,
March 18, 2008 at 6:44 pm
Hey CE,
Yeah. Having both an interpreter and a CART is too expensive. It’s not very reasonable, unfortunately.
I can have an interpreter and a notetaker, but not the other option.
The terp gets the notes the teacher passes out, and they get copies of the syllabus, the book… So they have ample opportunities to study the terminology.. and I always make an effort to show up to class between 10-15 minutes early, in case the terp wants to go over vocabulary with me.
You’re kinda right about the lag time. I guess I just do really have high standards, because I’ve worked with interpreters since I was five years old. I’ve had AMAZING interpreters, to CRAPPY interpreters… it runs the gamut, and and I’ve found that if they know English and ASL well, it doesn’t matter about the lag time.
They will make errors occasionally, and I’m okay with that. We all make mistakes once in a while. But what I’m seeing here is consistent conceptual errors – errors that a college educated person would not be making, to be honest.
And you know, I’m nearing completion of my college degree so I want an interpreter that’s at the top. I want to make sure I have all of the information the teacher’s saying, and I want to be able to jump in class discussions at any time without having to worry about the interpreter lagging and/or not understanding what I’m saying. That way I can graduate being fully confident that I AM competent in the field of my study.
Interesting point about memory skills. That makes sense. The ITPs definitely need to train the terps on memory skills. I hope the MI ITPs are doing that.
As for socialization, I don’t get that. I understand interpreters want to stay professional and socializing with deaf blurs boundaries sometimes, but how are they going to be able to do their job well if they’re not going to immerse themselves in ASL? It’s just mind-boggling to me.
Bill said,
March 18, 2008 at 8:30 pm
I don’t get the not socializing – why would you even want to be an interpreter, if you didn’t already socialize? What’s the fun of learning a new language, if you can’t practice it with native speakers-whether it’s Spanish or French or ASL?
Granted, it’s uncomfortable – I feel really stupid trying to communicate at the local deaf chat – I have to humble myself to accept that it’s something I can’t be good at right away, and keep trying. But I meet such great people!
By the way, I really respect anyone who can become a good an ASL interpreter – it takes a lot of concentration to listen, translate in your brain, and sign at the same time. I am always amazed when I watch them.
Clare said,
March 21, 2008 at 12:36 am
I completely agree about the quality of interpreters. I’m a senior at a very challenging liberal arts college and I’m the only Deaf student. The school offered me interpreters or CART but after trying both I was disappointed. Neither were educated enough to keep up with the material and would have ended up hindering me more than helping.
Recently I met an amazing interpreter and scholar from Ohio State. I begged her to stay but I knew she couldn’t. It was great to have an interpreter, even if only for a day, who was completely competent. As I enter medical school I’m praying that there is an interpreter who is smart enough to keep up with the terminology.
On a different note, in regards to receptive vs expressive communication: my hearing loss is progressive so I learned how to speak fairly well. Throughout elementary school there was always an interpreter but I always voiced for my self. I guess I didn’t trust the interpreters to get things right. As a result my receptive ASL is much better than my expressive. Though, ASL is my default language at times when I can’t talk (like waking up from surgery to have my wisdom teeth removed. I freaked the nurses out).
Anyway, the higher one goes in education the harder it becomes to find an interpreter who can and will keep up. I suspect that bad interpreters contribute a fair amount to the lack of academic achievement among deaf students. Sad but probably true.
Cate said,
March 25, 2008 at 8:13 am
I can sympathise – mainly because I am one of those interpreters who finds fingerspelling impossible. It is the reason I have not upgraded from paraprofessional to professional (Australian ranking level 2 to level 3). I have self tested on the practice test for the level 3 test, and had no problems at all … except for the fingerspelling. Particularly on a tv screen, I just find it impossible.
I am ok with friends, and people whose hands I know well, and their vocabulary (I have one friend who constantly fingerspells long English words rather than using an Auslan sign, and I have no problem with that), but if it is someone I don’t know, or something seems out of context, or if the Deaf person tends to sign in Auslan the word, and then repeat when spelling, it confuses me.
If you find the solution, please let me know – I would love to be able to improve
jessielme said,
April 3, 2008 at 3:08 pm
I’m happy to see your “rant” and I think it’s important to have an honest dialogue between deaf clients and interpreters about performance and competency levels. You, and every deaf person, deserve to have quality, competent interpreters (I know that is what I would expect in your shoes).
As in anything (medical care, education, interpreting…)it’s hard to deal with the systems in place; money is always an issue that causes those in power to hire incompetent interpreters. The real problem lies with those interpreters who do not admit that their skills are below par. As someone who has finished an Interpreter Preparation Program and who is STILL choosing not to work until I have proper certification, one of my biggest pet peeves is those other interpreters who have less experience and education than me, who are not very skilled, and who take well paying interpreting jobs anyway!
It DOES put you in a difficult position to be forced to stand up for yourself and to have to fire incompetent interpreters yourself, but the older I get, the more I understand that it is okay, and even necessary to be honest about your standards and your needs. It is your education on the line. It is not right for your professors and your classmates to think less of you because your interpreter is having a hard time.
Remember to do your part:
(1) Insist that the interpreter show up several minutes early to agree on important terminology with you.
(2) When an interpreter signs something
incorrectly such as “roll call,” take them aside and tell them, “I had trouble understanding your sign ‘role summon,’ I would understand quicker if you signed it ‘roll call.”
(3) And finally, if these steps do not work, be honest and tell them that you must have someone else interpret so that you do not fall behind in your class. You are your own best advocate.
On Fingerspelling « I Want to be a Sign Language Interpreter said,
April 5, 2008 at 6:42 pm
[...] you are hearing, you probably need improvement in this area. A few days ago I was reading this article (appropriately titled, “What’s the Matter with Interpreters?!”) by A Deaf [...]
coffeegirl said,
July 14, 2008 at 2:04 pm
I know the Deaf Community is extremely frustrated with interpreters that struggle with fingerspelling. Period. End of discussion? Not quite. I have been extremely frustrated with my inability to “catch” fs words and I am immersed into the Deaf community. Then after many years of involvement, I went to an RID conference where the presenter discussed concepts like “modified letters and letter dropping”.
When I first began learning ASL, attending conferences, hanging out with the Deaf, no one mentioned or discussed the many various ways letters are formed depending on the letter before and after it. For example, most hearies spell “cake” with the formal c.a.k.e. carefully creating each letter. In our brains that is what we are expecting to see on Deaf hands. Not true. Some Deaf (not all – I cannot say all) tend to spell it c.a.k (modified “e”) which can throw our eyes off. When I asked my Deaf friends about it, they were like “modified letters, what do you mean?” I explained and most were not even aware that they do it. One friend actually did not believe me until I caught him spelling something and had him “freeze” his hand. He was amazed and intrigued at the same time. He told me he never realized he changed the letter, it just came natural.
That is a major point. ASL is not a hearing person’s native language, never will be, therefore, it will be a lifetime of learning.
Now about letter dropping. The presenter discussed that many times Deaf simply drop letters while engaged in conversation. It happens all the time.
Another observation: Some of my Deaf friends say they HATE fs. They prefer that the interpreter uses a concept. If their terp uses fs-ing alot, they consider that terp inadequate and unskilled.
I am now attending Gally and many of the Deaf here prefer fs to concepts.
The speed of signs and fs here is unbelievable; the diversity of signs and the placement of signs is mind-boggling. I see the word “know” has migrated to the lower part of the cheek; the word “if” is signed on the chin. I could go on and on.
ASL is constantly changing and evolving. Many of the older Deaf do not like how the younger generation sign (yes they comment a lot). Many of my “older” professors (35+) ask the younger ones (18-25) to repeat. I confess, it helps me sooo much! (smile)
I think interpreters have their strengths and weaknesses. I have strong ASL to spoken English skills – hey, English is my native language and I love the challenge of matching the Deaf presenters register, picking the right English phrases, etc.
One last comment and question…since I am involved in the Deaf community and I see Deaf asking Deaf to repeat quite often in conversations, why can’t hearing people ask for clarification in terms of “please repeat that”? Be nice. I am only asking. (smile)
I would love to see comments on any of the topics above.
bye now…