Does your company have deaf or hard-of-hearing employees or requires ASL interpreters for an upcoming event? Look no further than Language Connections, a veteran language service provider who specializes in providing exceptional sign language interpreting services with over 30 years of experience in the industry.
Common Misconceptions About Sign Language Interpreting
When people hear the words “sign language” most automatically assume this refers to American Sign Language as the universal language for the deaf and hard of hearing. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Just like spoken languages around the world, every country has their own form of sign language adapted from their unique spoken language and culture. A study conducted by National Geographic this year found that there are at least 300 different sign languages actively used today around the world to meet the needs of over 72 million deaf or hard-of-hearing users.
Because every country has their own form of sign language, interpreting services and professional ASL interpreters who attempt to communicate with someone who uses a different sign language will have difficulty understanding local signs and gestures in a similar way to how those who use spoken languages have trouble with different dialects. This is especially true within international environments where business is conducted between hearing, hearing-impaired, and deaf clients of different languages and cultures.
International Standards For Sign Language Interpreting
Despite there being over 300 different forms of sign language currently being used across the world, there is in fact a universal sign language created in 1951 that it is now used at international events such as the Deaflympics and the World Federation of the Deaf. This language, International Sign (IS), is the silent counterpart to other languages intentionally created to facilitate better communication between different communities, such as Braille for the blind and Esperanto for those who use spoken languages around the world. However, despite strong efforts to add sign language to the universal list of languages, there is no officially recognized global sign language written in law today by standing organizations such as the United Nations, As a result, there are no international regulations regarding how companies or individuals should communicate when two different sign languages are in use.
The Challenges of Cross-Signing
Research done by the Journal of Cognitive Linguistics in 2015 of cross-signing between speakers of 6 different signed languages, including International Sign and ASL, found that they generally have no shared linguistic system to rely on to ensure successful communication This means that sign language interpreters for these specific cross-signing scenarios must use their expertise and quick thinking to use the space around them to best convey concepts and ideas that are not easily interpreted into the signed language of the receiver. This suggests that the specific environment where the interpreting takes place plays a major role in affecting how successful multimodal interaction can be.
The results of this study combined with no official ruling on the universal sign that should be used in cross-signing environments further proves why it is necessary to have a professional interpreter on hand who has sufficient training in both your specific industry and your needed sign language(s). With the use of expert interpreters comes the ability to adapt to fast-paced environments that are subject to change without proper warning, better allowing them to adapt to a usage-based model of interpreting when the receiver doesn’t sign the same language. This is especially crucial when conducting business in an international setting where the probability of having two different sign language users significantly increases.
Language Connections’ Sign Language Interpreting Services
At Language Connections, we understand that not everyone uses or needs the same form of sign language, including American sign language (ASL). This is why we pride ourselves in offering professional interpreting services and translation services in a multitude of formats and languages to best suit your business needs. Whether you need in-person sign language interpreting for a large international conference, or a one-on-one OPI meeting for client meetings, you can rely on Language Connections to meet all your language service needs!
About Language Connections:
Language Connections is one of the top language service companies in the US. Over the last 30 years, we’ve focused on providing the best business translation services, interpreting services, as well as interpreter training and customized language training programs. In addition to top-tier corporate language training, we offer certified corporate interpreters and professional business translation services in 200+ languages. Our network includes linguists with backgrounds in all major industries. They’re ready to meet your needs, whether they’re for technical translation services, legal translation, government translation services, international development translation services, education translation services, life sciences translation, or something else. Reach out to us today for a free quote on our cost-efficient and timely translation services, interpreters, or other linguistic services.
Language Connections Inc.
2001 Beacon Street, Suite 105,
Boston, MA 02135
Phone: +1-617-731-3510
Email: service@languageconnections.com