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Why shouldn’t I let my consumers do my work for me sometimes?

Sep 30

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Some interpreters just hate it when they’re trying to interpret from ASL to English and someone in the audience who knows sign language blurts out a word the interpreter missed or is trying to think of. I had such an interpreting experience recently, and it made me think about my willingness to let my consumers help me with my interpretation. Looking at it now, I think it is a question of humility, not laziness, but that is the wisdom of hindsight talking. Let me bring you back to the not-so-wise moment when I had a conflict with my audience.

The deaf speaker, presenting to an audience of people who knew ASL pretty well but not fluently, fingerspelled a number I wasn’t entirely sure of. I thought I got it, but wasn’t 100% confident in my perception. I didn’t have a team interpreter to support me in voicing. Someone in the audience said the thing I wasn’t sure of, and it turned out I was right. Yet, after they did that bit of work for me, I asked the presenter to reiterate the lexical item. I was doing consecutive interpreting, and while I was watching the deaf signer, yet another audience member said the thing I wasn’t sure of. I said, “Just a moment. I’m getting this.” And then I said the thing we all thought the deaf person said, only this time I was sure of my interpretation. The dialogue between me and the audience members was quiet, and it didn’t seem to be a big deal for anyone, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it after the assignment.

Why did I do what I did? Was it the most appropriate and effective behavior? What could I have done differently? Why didn’t I just let it go when the audience member guessed rightly? And, even if they had guessed wrongly, would it have mattered? These are the questions that nagged me this morning.

I think I did what I did for several reasons I’m not necessarily proud of: Read the rest of this entry →

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Register for the “United We Stand” Hawaii state conference today!

I am excited to be presenting my Vague Language (VL) workshop at the “United We Stand” Hawaii state conference co-hosted by the Aloha State Association of the Deaf (ASAD), Hawaii Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (HRID), and Miss Deaf Hawai`i Ambassador Program (MDHAP). The conference takes place August 19-21, 2011, in Honolulu, HI at the Pacific Beach Hotel in beautiful Waikiki. For those of you in Hawaii, or who would like to make the trip to the tropical island, follow this link to register: ASAD STATE CONFERENCE 2011 REGISTRATION FORM

Vague Language workshop at Western Oregon University August 12

Jun 17

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I will be presenting my Vague Language (VL) workshop at a silent weekend at Western Oregon University on Friday, August 12, from 2:30 to 5:30 pm. This event is sponsored by the Western Region Interpreter Education Center (WRIEC) and happens to follow the first two–week colloquium of the first cohort of the Masters in Interpreting Studies / Teaching (MAIS) at Western Oregon University. I am excited about beginning my master’s degree and teaching about vague language (VL) at this silent weekend. Please register by completing the form below and check out the tentative agenda and topic abstracts. Hope to see you there!

Early Bird registration fees available only until July 1st. Registration, tentative agenda & workshop abstracts also at http://www.wou.edu/education/sped/wriec/silent_weekend.php

From the Silent Weekend coordinator:

Greetings!

On behalf of the ASL/English Interpreting Program at Western Oregon University, the Western Region Interpreter Education Center, the Oregon Department of Education’s Educational Interpreter Subcommittee, the Regional Resource Center on Deafness, and the Oregon Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, we would like to invite you to join us for our third annual Silent Weekend, August 12-14, 2011 in Monmouth, Oregon. This weekend, conducted completely in American Sign Language (ASL), is for Deaf and hearing students, interpreters, mentors, interpreter educators, and ASL instructors.

Attendees and presenters can choose from two possible tracks – although they may participate in both – with corresponding workshops. The first is interpreter professional development, which is for working and pre-professional interpreters. The second track is for students and community members to develop their ASL skills and further learn linguistic features of the language.

Interpreters: This is an opportunity to earn up to 1.4 CEUs! If you are looking for some worthwhile workshops and a chance to sharpen your skills, then Silent Weekend is for you!

Thank you!

~CM

For more information, contact:

CM Hall, Ed.M., NIC Advanced, EIPA Ed K:12
Project Coordinator
Western Region Interpreter Education Center
Western Oregon University

W: 503-838-8731

C: 503-888-7172

Skype: WesternRegionInterpreterEdCenter

Facebook: Western Region Interpreter Education Center

Website: http://www.wou.edu/wriec

To learn more about interpreting as a career, visit
http://www.discoverinterpreting.com

WRIEC is a collaborative endeavor of Western Oregon University and El Camino College and a member of the National Consortium of Interpreter Education Centers (NCIEC).

UPDATE: Attendance was so good they had to move the workshop into a bigger room. Thanks, everyone!

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The truth on interpreters for deaf at WordCamp Phoenix 2011

Jan 23

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I was “the interpreter” who offered to coordinate interpreters for WordCamp Phoenix 2011. I wish I could remain silent, but the blog post I’m responding to has been viewed almost 900 times already and has already been sanctioned by a famous deaf blogger who I believe would think otherwise if he read my side of the story. So, before anyone else is misled, allow me to set the record straight.

I first spoke with Amanda, the conference organizer, on Thursday afternoon, January 14, and offered to interpret and coordinate. She told me the budget was $2,000 for a four–track conference which would need a maximum of eight interpreters. I figured I could get four professional interpreters to earn $50 an hour, get four students to volunteer their services pro bono, and that would still leave $400, half of which might go toward compensating me for coordinating services, and half of which might go toward gift cards for students.

That same night, I found out that Amanda had un–registered a deaf registrant because she didn’t like her attitude. I advocated for the ousted registrant, emailing Amanda, “Deaf people routinely face discrimination and have to fight for their rights. In light of this, I find the registrant’s demands assertive rather than aggressive.” I even followed this up another day and asked Amanda if she would please consider reinstating her. Amanda was immovable.

I should mention that the first deaf registrant had approached me around Thanksgiving about interpreting for WordCamp. I had said I would be interested and asked him to send me more information, but the holidays came and went before I saw an announcement from Amanda on the Arizona RID Yahoo Group. I knew how important it was for this deaf person to attend WordCamp, so I decided to provide for him even though I was not happy with Amanda’s handling of the other deaf registrant.

By the end of the week, I had offers from two other professionals and at least four other students. At this point, all I needed was one more professional if (and that’s a big “if”) there were deaf attendees in all four tracks on Saturday. Read the rest of this entry →

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My experience dancing with black people at the NAOBI conference

Jul 10

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One more thing I must share about NAOBI— something that moved me and touched my heart. Now, I know it sounds funny to talk about “black people” and point out the differences between their culture and mine— black people’s and white people’s. It seems “politically correct” to be hush-hush about the differences between black people and white people, but I want to tell you some positive things about what’s different about black culture! And this is so neat. It seems — now, I interpreted for a full week last year at the NBDA (National Black Deaf Advocates, a deaf association) conference, and at the end of the week, we danced!— It seems to me that black people cannot get together and not dance. It seems that every conference I’ve been to — and that’s only two, but still — in my experience, when black people gather for a conference, they’ve got to dance together. And it’s so much fun! They had a DJ playing music loud, and everyone danced together— deaf people, interpreters, everyone. And they line up facing each other while people dance down the aisle, you know, like Soul Train. That’s where everyone lines up in two lines facing each other, forming an aisle, and as people move up to the front of the line, they dance down the aisle and do their own thing, show their personality, express what they’re feeling. Everyone on the sidelines cheers them on, goads them on, and roots for them. You strut down that aisle, you dance, you swing, you move your body, and you do your thing, you express yourself. Oh, it’s fun! And people are fiercely supportive.

Read the rest of this entry →

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