Terp Struggles

Focusing on interpreters who are new in the field and the struggles that they experience and the variations of ASL that are used within the field

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This is a discussion done by myself and a classmate of mine named Ellie. The two of us discussed our different experiences and ideas on new interpreter struggles and the variations of ASL and how they affect us as interpreters and our future jobs as we enter the field.

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This video does not have captions, but the woman in it has very helpful tips for new interpreters that I think could benefit and better prepare students who are getting ready to go into the field.

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PSA: if you do not know ASL this video does have Closed Captions and there will be a brief summary down below

This video is from a girl named Rikki Poynter and in it she discusses how she went to an event which had been preplanned and she had been set up to have an interpreter but the interpreter canceled on her last minute. She was unable to find another interpreter. Lucky for her, there was indeed a Captioner there and some of her friends were willing to help her communicate throughout her time at the event. She also mentions that she believes this is not the first time she has heard of an interpreter from that company cancelling appointments last minute. I decided to share this video because I thought it was a good representation of how much interpreters affect their Deaf client’s lives and how much care should be taken when accepting jobs and declining them, especially when one is first getting started. Declining too many jobs, cancelling last minute, or not showing up does not only hurt the Deaf client, but hurts the interpreter as well. Deaf clients will not want to work with you, agencies will not either, and they might also share the information with others they may know. This community is very small and word spreads very fast so it is important to remember the impact that Interpreters have on the community and on people’s lives and be cautious of the choices they make. Noone wants to get a bad reputation before they’re even started.

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https://www.daytranslations.com/blog/2017/07/challenges-interpreters-face-9501/

I think this article has some very good examples of the challenges that new interpreters face within the field of interpreting such as the knowledge of other cultures, being able to hear the speaker, and even interpreting jokes and humor. These things can be extremely difficult, specifically when you are a new interpreter who is still perfecting their skills. Interpreting jokes can be one of the hardest things in interpreting even for more experienced interpreters, the reason being because they usually do not translate very well into ASL. But being aware of these issues and practicing them before you run into them can help a new interpreter become much more prepared and seasoned within the industry.

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So you’re thinking of becoming an interpreter! That’s good, because there’s always a demand for skilled interpreters who can sign fluently and read another person’s signing well. The demand for qua…

“ Deaf and hard of hearing people deserve to have interpreters who know what they are doing and who do it well. A qualified interpreter is one who can, both receptively and expressively, interpret accurately, effectively, and impartially, using any necessary specialized vocabulary. Interpreters who struggle with their own expressive and receptive sign skills are difficult to understand, and cannot convey their clients’ messages accurately. This situation benefits no one. Deaf and hard of hearing people get frustrated, hearing people (businesses, speakers, interviewers, etc.) form an unfavorable impression of the entire experience, and the interpreting profession gets shortchanged. “

I found this paragraph to be a much clearer representation of the point I’m trying to make with this blog. Interpreters must have the ability to meet the expectations and needs of their Deaf clients and if they cannot, they face creating a lack of communication for the Deaf client and possibly lack of future jobs if their skills are not up to par, It is important for us as interpreters to remember eyes are always on us and sometimes it is not always just those of our Deaf clients but our hearing clients as well. We must conduct ourselves professionally, appropriately, and make sure communication is being achieved always.

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The ADA defines a qualified interpreter as one who is able to interpret effectively, accurately, and impartially both receptively and expressively.

https://www.rid.org/government-affairs-program/state-licensure/ (via terpcase)

I found this quote from RID to be especially important since the article itself also discusses the concern of licensure. Licensure is defined as the regulation of licenses for professionals and unfortunately within the interpreting field, licensure is not something that is completely set in stone everywhere. It varies from state to state within the U.S. and thus can be very harmful in states where there is no licensure; for Deaf clients and for interpreters as well. This harms the Deaf client because without licensure anyone can claim to be an interpreter or attempt to interpret without having the proper training, language fluency, or licensing at all and thus miscommunicate something in a major way. We have seen examples of this with the recent hurricanes and the serial killer case in Seminole Heights, Florida where a woman said she was a sign language interpreter and wrongfully interpreted for the mother of one of the victims. Without licensure, Deaf people’s right to accurate communication is destroyed and may cause ill feelings towards interpreters, the same could go for new interpreters. Perhaps that Deaf person has had a bad experience with a relatively new interpreter and now they have portrayed that onto their next new interpreter and so on. You can see how this could also happen with licensure. This affects new interpreters who are trying to build their skills to get licensed because it is not only harder to find a job without a license but now because of these previous events, Deaf people find it harder to trust interpreters to communicate for them.

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The ADA defines a qualified interpreter as one who is able to interpret effectively, accurately, and impartially both receptively and expressively.

https://www.rid.org/government-affairs-program/state-licensure/

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Top 4 Challenges Interpreters Face

Besides making sure they’re keeping their language skills up to par while dealing with workload, here are 4 major challenges top interpreters may encounter.

This article lists just a few challenges that interpreters make throughout their career, including that of trying to interpret jokes, not having a lot of preparation for an assignment, not being able to hear the speaker, and cultural knowledge. I can attest to some of these from my own experiences throughout my internship this semester. For instance, I had my first medical appointment today and I have never had any prior experience with medical, no mock practices, or any sort of preparation. However, I did take the time to reach out to the certified interpreter whom was a great help and gave me some suggestions on how to prepare myself for this situation. Although her advice was helpful, I still didn’t quite feel I was prepared enough and I am sure that this is something that many new interpreters feel when they get out into the field. You’re still gaining your skills, still connecting with the Deaf community and building up your receptive skills and understanding and maybe still focusing on the English words a little too much and then you’re put in an assignment that you’ve never been before and you’re uncomfortable. Everything is awkward, the client feels awkward because you look it and feel it too and communication is happening but awkward as well. So how do you fix it?? The advice given to me today was to find mock doctor’s appointments or find mock situations and start practicing interpreting them. Get familiar with them and try to adjust. But the point of this all is, this is something all interpreters struggle with. Specifically when they are new interpreters. They’re fresh out of an ITP (Interpreter Training Program) or some sort of Bachelors degree and trying to build their skills and reputation within the interpreting and Deaf community, don’t have a lot of experience, and they’re all just trying to make it and make sure nobody dies and nobody goes to jail. I think it really is just an adjustment period that everyone goes through and it would be better if we talked about it more often and thus why I thought this article was so beneficial to this blog. It shows that all interpreters struggle one way or another and it takes time to improve.

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Interpreting Resources

Sign language interpreting is a rapidly expanding field. Schools, government agencies, hospitals, court systems, and private businesses employ interpreters. Interpreters work in a variety of settings including medical, legal, religious, mental health, rehabilitation, performing arts and business. As you begin your journey of discovery into the profession, we hope that you will utilize RID as the go-to

This article from RID (The Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf) gives an overall explanation of the requirements to become an interpreter and a very good explanation as to what it is that interpreters do. It is much more than just putting your hands up and waving them around or even just having a normal conversation like you and I would. It takes a lot of time, energy, knowledge, and processing to interpret. You must be fluent in both your spoken language and signed language and must have the ability to remain calm in a varying amounts of situations that may occur. You must follow a Professional Code of Conduct which defines where the lines of your profession must start and stop before becoming blurred. But ultimately, what it comes down to is this job is about helping people. Helping them communicate, helping them live their lives, and interpreters are a witness to many things in their lives. Whether that may be informing the Deaf client that they have cancer, that a loved one has just given birth or passed away, that their house just went into foreclosure, or that their best friend is getting married; interpreters are a witness to it all and whether we want to be or not we are human and we feel things and though they must remain unbiased and unaffected in through the act of interpreting some of these experiences will take a toll and will affect them and as such it is important to practice self care and understand the struggles that will come with this career. They will bare witness to situations that will make them uncomfortable or perhaps that they do not agree with and they will have to overcome or remove themselves from it in a professional manner and deal with their own feelings on their own time and sometimes that is hard. Sometimes communication may not occur because of lack of correspondence or perhaps the client has language needs that are not being met by the interpreter or perhaps the interpreter is not qualified for the job or perhaps it just isn’t a good match! These things happen. This field is not black and white and it is not cut and dry. There are many blurred lines here. But it is important that interpreters advocate for their clients to the best of their ability and take care of themselves as well. This job is not easy but it is rewarding in so many ways.

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Wherever communities of Deaf people exist, sign languages develop

https://www.omicsonline.org/deaf-studies-hearing-aids/sign-language-scholarly-journal.php (via terpcase)

I find this quote to be important because it represents the diversity of language as a whole and especially that of sign language. Many people do not realize that there is more than just one language and that sign language is not universal by any means. What someone may sign in America for the word apple may be completely different from what someone in Uganda might sign. This even can occur within states of each other. Some signs in Alabama are very different from what we sign here in Florida, these are called regional signs. But regional signs are not the only variance of this nature within this language, there are also some signs known as ‘home signs’. Home signs are usually signs that may not be “correct” when it comes to accurate signs that are defined by the language itself, but they could be something that the Deaf person learned as a child or growing up from their parents and although it may not be correct or accurate, the concept and communication are still there and that is what is most important. Communication.

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Wherever communities of Deaf people exist, sign languages develop

https://www.omicsonline.org/deaf-studies-hearing-aids/sign-language-scholarly-journal.php

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The Different Types of Sign Language

Sign language like spoken language differs tremendously from region to region, learn about the most popular forms and interesting facts regarding each.

This article explains that sign language is not universal but has many different forms. There is ASL (American Sign Language), PSE (Pidgin Signed English), and SEE (Signed Exact English), as well as many varying country originated signed languages such as BSL (British Sign Language) and SSL (Spanish Signed Language) just to name a few. There is even something called International Sign Language that can also be learned.