Having a hearing impairment can have a considerable impact on a person’s social mentality and their daily life. A large challenge that deaf individuals face is communicating with hearing people who do not know sign language. As a result, the need for professional interpreting services for the Deaf community is crucial. When interpreters are faced with the challenge of interpreting for deaf individuals, they must rely on strong visual skills to accurately interpret sign language symbols.
Challenges Associated with Professional Interpreting Services for the Hard of Hearing
Providing professional interpreting services for the deaf is by no means a simple job. Deaf interpreter services involve a high level of mental focus and strong attention to detail. This is due to the fact that this type of interpretation places emphasis on recognizing gestures and hand signals.
What’s also important to understand is that converting a spoken language into a visual language demands an acute sense of sight. Due to the fact that most people communicate through a spoken language, they are accustomed to using their voice to express feelings and ideas.
Consequently, most people do not understand how to express these ideas and feelings with hand signals, or in a medium of communication that inhibits the use of spoken words.
Formats of Professional Interpreting Services for the Hard of Hearing
Providing professional interpreting services for the hard of hearing in-person can be done in two ways. One way involves using one sign language interpreter. The interpreter, who is fluent in American Sign Language (or the particular sign language needed), converts messages from spoken language to the signed language. This type of interpreter works between a hearing and a deaf individual.
Another method of using an interpreter for deaf individuals involves using two interpreters; one who is a sign language interpreter, and another who is a Certified Deaf Interpreter (CDI). A CDI is a deaf individual who specializes in interpreting different sign languages. A licensed CDI has near-native fluency in American Sign Language as well as other visual languages, and they also possess an understanding of the Deaf community and Deaf culture.
In this interpreter team method, a hearing individual relays a message to a hearing interpreter, who then converts the spoken words into ASL. The CDI then has the job of refining the ASL message into a message the individual needing interpretation will understand, such as a different sign language.
Video of a hearing interpreter and CDI working together using ASL and International Sign Language (known as Gestuno):
Video courtesy of GU RIEC, YouTube.
Technology in Deaf Interpreter Services
With the advent of technology impacting all industries in today’s world, professional interpreting services for the hard of hearing have also been directly impacted by technology. Sign language interpreting can be conducted using video relay services (VRS) and video remote interpreting (VRI).
In VRS, a deaf individual uses video conferencing technology to receive and make phone calls through an ASL interpreter at a call center. When the individual dials a number through videophones, they are directed to an ASL interpreter who then connects the call to the hearing individual speaking with the deaf individual. The interpreter then interprets messages between the two parties.
Example situation of video relay services being used in an emergency situation:
Video courtesy of NCAPCO, YouTube.
VRI is another form of professional interpreting services in which a deaf individual and hearing individual also use video conferencing equipment to speak to an ASL interpreter at a call center. However, the main difference from VRS in this instance is that the hearing individual and the deaf individual are located in the same room.
Both VRS and VRI have significantly improved the livelihood of the Deaf community, as video interpretation has given deaf and hearing individuals the ability to communicate in common everyday situations. This technology also has the power to save lives, as a deaf individual can speak with doctors and other emergency personnel through call center interpreters during emergencies.
Different Sign Languages of the World
Although many might think that ASL is the primary sign language that is used by the Deaf community, there are in fact many sign languages that exist around the world. A CDI must be able to use multiple sign languages, so that besides understanding ASL, he or she has the ability to convert an ASL message into the specific sign language used by his or her client.
There about 70 million people in the world who use sign language as their native language, and there are over 200 different sign languages. Most countries have their own unique sign language, which in turn creates a language barrier between deaf people from separate countries.
A few of the different sign languages in the world and the countries they are used in are listed below:
- USA: American Sign Language (ASL)
- Canada: ASL and Langue des Signes Québécoise (LSQ)
- Great Britain: British Sign Language (BSL)
- Australia: Auslan
- China: Chinese Sign Language (CSL)
- Ireland: Irish Sign Language (ISL)
- Japan: Japanese Sign Language (JSL)
- Spain: Spanish Sign Language (SSL)
- International: Gestuno (International Sign Language)
Some of the above sign languages evolved from one another, as is the case with Auslan, which is Australian Sign Language. Auslan originated from 19th century BSL, and when practiced, both Auslan and BSL look very similar to each other.
Although Auslan, BSL and ASL are English sign languages, their alphabets are not signed the same way. The ASL alphabet is signed using one hand, while the alphabet for Auslan and BSL is signed with two hands.
Sign languages are also differentiated based on non-hand motion as well. For example, Japanese Sign Language is different from ASL in that it requires frequent oral movements to differentiate certain signs.
Furthermore, some sign languages have been around for a long time, while others have been developed within the last half century. Irish Sign Language, for instance, originated between 1846 and 1849, and it spread into Australia, South Africa and parts of the UK through the work of Catholic missionaries.
Conversely, International Sign Language, also known as Gestuno, was created by a committee from the World Federation of the Deaf in 1973. Gestuno is commonly used at large events that include members of the Deaf community from foreign countries, such as the Deaflympics. The name Gestuno is Italian, and it means “the unity of sign languages”.
Where Can I Find a Sign Language Interpreter?
Although finding an interpreter for the deaf may seem like a daunting task, there are actually many online resources that can aid in locating an interpreter. A popular way of finding professional interpreting services for the hard of hearing is to use the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) website which also lists the Deaf-Hearing Communication Centre hotline.
Conversely you can go through an interpretation agency which will have a network of ASL interpreters and CDIs. Language Connections partners with many interpreters and organizations to provide ASL interpreting and other sign language services across the country and for a variety of industries.
Learn More About Our ASL Interpreter services, and Our Interpreting Services.
Sources:
- http://www.chs.ca/about-deaf-interpreting
- https://www.nad.org/resources/american-sign-language/interpreting-american-sign-language/
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mY66b2lKOLk
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGFcP0OQV3k
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tn6TJeaKhRo
- http://www.interpretereducation.org/specialization/deaf-interpreter/
- http://www.rid.org/rid-certification-overview/cdi-certification/
- https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/american-sign-language
- https://www.startasl.com/languages-of-the-world_html
- http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/cur/languages/asl/
- http://www.auslan.org.au/about/history/
- http://www.deaflinx.com/ASL/gestuno.html
- https://dhcc.org/interpreting-services/24-emergency-service/
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