Abstracts for Interpreting - 25 Years of Evolution
Liz Scott Gibson, WASLI President: Sharing the Silver – a work in progress
This presentation will explore the evolution of the profession of sign language interpreters over the past 25 years, drawing on developments both in Scotland, and elsewhere. It will consider the contribution of professional associations of sign language interpreters, and suggest ways in which knowledge & experience may be shared with colleagues overseas, especially those in income-poor countries.
It will also examine the role of the World Association of Sign Language Interpreters since its establishment in 2005, and reflect upon the potential for positive and effective working relationships with Deaf communities at both local, national and international levels.
Maya De Wit, EFSLI President: Sign Language Interpreting in Europe: what have we accomplished in 25 years and challenges for the next 25 years
Sign language interpreting is a young profession that developed rapidly during the last 25 years. As a result, in some areas we are still pioneering. I will address the development of our profession from two perspectives. First, how we gain further insight as to which skills are needed to deliver professional interpreting services. I will also discuss how experience across Europe demonstrates that we need to institute national frameworks in order to establish and provide the interpreting services. I will outline how these aspects affect our profession and how we can use them to further our professional growth.
Graham Turner: “Fail again. Fail better.” 25 Years of Evolution in Sign Language Interpreting
“Progress,” wrote the humourist Ogden Nash, “might have been all right once, but it has gone on too long”. In the case of sign language interpreting, the 25 years that have elapsed since the profession first began to establish itself on these shores have undoubtedly seemed like an excessively long time to many. There were, after all, such high hopes for decisive change in those heady days of the late 1970s and early 1980s when BSL was newly reified and the only way was up.
This paper reflects upon the course that the field has charted across the years. In doing so, the presentation focuses upon the shifting narrative relating to (a) models of interpreting, (b) ideas about interpreters and professionalism and (c) the findings of interpreting research across the years.
Drawing upon current research and developments in sign language interpreting theory and practice, as well as an ongoing study of the post-war social history of BSL, the discussion takes stock of the state of affairs which obtained prior to the 1980s, sets out key issues which have been faced during SASLI’s 25-year history and seeks to arrive at an orientation towards future development which is neither rose-tinted nor defeatist.
Caroline Bickerton: Sticking plasters and aspirins - first aid for interpreters
25 years ago the social workers with deaf people spent around 80% of their time ‘interpreting’ and the concept of specialist posts as interpreters was only just being considered.
In the past the interpreter was trained to be invisible and the idea was that nothing of the experience affected you or stayed with you as it was all ‘confidential’ and therefore could be left behind - true? Or a myth that practitioners have struggled for years to live up to? I believe that everything we do, all experiences we are exposed to have an affect - but how vulnerable is it possible to be? Who has the sticking plaster? Why do so many interpreters always carry aspirins??
I want to look as support systems - at the need for first aid programmes for interpreters, peer support or facilitated groups, supervision or mentoring, access to specialised counselling support. What will be right for one will not suit another but if you think you do not need any of this then you probably do!
Deaf Action: Should I hold the client’s hand? Are my professional ethics compromised by being human?
Is it true that community interpreting is thought of as an easy option? Or is a specialist field in its own right?
One challenge, which is especially prevalent in community interpreting is coping with emotionally charge situations. Many interpreters have attended appointments anticipating a simple 10 minute booking, only to discover that in those 10 minutes a person’s life may be shattered and come tumbling down around them. As the person who is there to facilitate communication and who has an understanding of both cultures, should we “shut off” our emotions and remain impartial?
Should interpreters offer a supportive hug or hold the client’s hand in a stressful or difficult situation? Is the quality of our work affected by our emotions? In being empathetic are we assuming too much responsibility or should it be shared? Where do we go to deal with our own feelings and thoughts after the interpreting assignment?
Our presentation will use our research findings and our experience in interpreting within community settings to promote further reflection of professional ethics in practise.
Nancy Ferguson & Catherine King: Someone to Watch Over Me: Practitioner Well Being
In recent years the Scottish Executive has turned its attention to the well being of its citizens, examining the factors which lead to mental health issues and finding ways to promote well being. This has led to an increased body of work focussing on the mental health of those categorised in systems as “clients” or “service users”.
Recently, however, there has been a shift in focus towards examining the psychological well being of the practitioners in the field charged with the responsibility of working with these “clients”. This has led to a fresh perspective on the interactions that take place and the effects of these on the interlocutors. Whilst this is illuminating and useful, it has not addressed the unique role of the “neutral and objective” Interpreter and the concomitant mental health issues that may arise. Moreover it has neither identified these issues nor attempted to offer any suggestions for preventative steps. The research which led to this paper is an initial attempt to do so.
The paper will deal with some quantative research which was carried out in 2007 and present some of the findings. The paper will also attempt to contextualise these results against the backdrop of parallel practitioner research offer some possible strategies for preventative work in this area.
Teresa Braiser and Trudi Collier: Supporting interpreters working in a counselling setting
The Scottish Council on Deafness Counselling Training Project Coordinators worked with a number of interpreters through the 3-year period of the project. It became clear that there was little specialised training and support for interpreters working in a counselling or counselling training setting. Following a one-hour workshop on “Using Interpreters in a Counselling Setting” at which counsellors and interpreters discussed these issues, Trudi Collier and Teresa Brasier designed and delivered a 1-day training on “Interpreting in a Counselling Setting”. They also assisted in negotiating a contract for telephone advice and counselling for all members of SASLI.
This presentation will draw on their experience of working as counsellors and trainers. There will be an opportunity to discuss: how to interpret effectively in a counselling setting and how interpreters can get the support they need. Teresa will also present some of her findings on the effectiveness of telephone counselling from her MSc thesis.
COPFS – Code of Practice for Working with Interpreters in the Scottish Criminal Justice System
The Working Group on Interpreting and Translation (WGIT) has been developing a Code of Practice which will establish common standards for interpreting and translation throughout the Scottish Criminal Justice System.
The Code of Practice will set out the various responsibilities and obligations of those working with interpreters within the Scottish Criminal Courts. It will aim to give an overview of what is expected from each of the organisations when instructing the services of an interpreter and what these organisations should expect from the interpreter assigned to work on a criminal case.
The Code of Practice will contain individual sections on ‘Good Practice’ for the Interpreter; the Police; the Precognition Interview at the Procurator Fiscal’s Office; the Procurator Fiscal in Court; the Clerk of Court; the Precognition Interview by Defence Solicitors; the Defence Solicitor in Court; and other Court Officials such as Reception Staff and Court Officers.
Overall, it is hoped this Code of Practice will contribute towards a coordinated approach across the main organisations and so provide a more effective service to those individuals requiring the services of an interpreter.
Rachel O’Neill: Educational interpreting – why isn’t there more of it?
In this paper I look at the reasons why so few BSL / English interpreters work in the school and college sectors in Scotland and the UK. I put forward reasons why I think it is important for interpreters to consider this area of work and some important developments across the age range with deaf pupils in Scotland. I will explore the idea of institutionalised audism in the education system and how it might be challenged. I will discuss some of the structural changes which need to occur before deaf children are likely to receive high quality access to education in BSL. Finally I consider some of the serious difficulties about working in a mainstream environment using interpreting. I will discuss the continuing struggle around the concept of inclusion. These issues are perhaps impossible to resolve. However, I hope to encourage SASLI members to interact more with school services for deaf children so that the aim of a sign bilingual education can be achieved in Scotland.
Carolyn Nabarro: The 21st Century Sign Language Interpreter – ‘Culture-less’? Language cannot exist without culture
This paper reflects my life-long involvement in the Deaf community. In the past, many interpreters were involved in the community or were ‘CODAs’, from Deaf families, with an inextricable link to the community in which they worked and lived. This meant that they had inherent cultural understanding and shared the community’s values.
The interpreting profession is growing and more 21st Century interpreters come from outside the community. Interpreter training has improved immensely, but there appears to be a fundamental ‘gap’ as interpreters seek careers with Deaf people, rather than coming from an engagement with them. Changing values and attitudes among trained, professional interpreters means some feel they no longer ‘need’ the Deaf community and this attitude results in existing problems.
Deaf community identity is also changing, due to, for example, changing technology and professionalism, but Deaf people still need quality interpreters engaged in their lives.
Interpreters who understand and imbibe Deaf culture may experience ethical difficulties in contact with the hearing world. Conversely, some interpreters need to develop a culture of support to avoid a ‘pressure cooker’ effect within themselves!
The need for more interpreters has led to an expensive, production-line approach to training, but surely lack of cultural understanding could be more ‘expensive’ in terms of suffering among interpreters and the Deaf community.
Margo Currie: Passionate Engagement
Having spent over twenty years as an active Interpreter and member of SASLI this speaker is of the opinion that if we feel passionate about our profession then we must agree that it is rooted in the language and culture of Deaf people.
That being the case, how can we not insist on engaging more with the Deaf Community?
The benefits to be derived from such collaboration are of immense importance to the further development of a profession which is still fairly nascent in the eyes of the general public.
In this presentation the speaker will share a personal overview of how engaging with the Deaf Community could do even more than it already has, to contribute to:
· Providing motivation
· Defining purpose
· Clarifying aims
· Establishing policy
· Facilitating learning
· Promoting awareness
However the future success of our profession depends on ways of maximising the as yet untapped potential that exists in the Deaf Community the application of knowledge, experience and skills, unique to Deaf people, is crucial to the efficacy and development of a truly professional organisation such as SASLI.
Deaf Action: - “It’s a set up! Working with the Deaf community and other stakeholders to establish a new communication support agency”
In 2001, Deaf Action were commissioned by NHS Highland and Highland Council to establish a new and vital communication support service in the Highland area of Scotland - which is remote, rural and geographically extensive with a disperse population. This area of Scotland had a vibrant Deaf community, but no distinct communication support agency. The Deaf community campaigned for change, and Deaf Action was charged with setting up the agency.
As part of the process of ‘setting up’ we consulted extensively with the Deaf community and other stakeholders, and incorporated their suggestions and needs into the shape of the service. We also planned for the future and built in a series of support mechanisms, training opportunities and technology to allow the service to grow. This local input continues to determine the way the service has grown.
Our presentation will give a summary of the issues we faced, report on the initial years of providing a communication support service from scratch and how we have planned for the service to grow. We will outline some of the business planning tools we used, and adapted as the needs of those using the service changed.
John Walker: From co-working to co-interpreting: definition, application and curriculum
Chereme Ltd., a training provider, has developed and delivered a programme on ‘co-interpreting’, which has developed over the past 6 years: primarily in Italy (ANIOS) and later in the UK (ASLI, Hampshire, Manchester College, RAD, University of Sussex).
Chereme introduced a new term, ‘co-interpreting’ as an extension to the commonly known concept of working in a team. If a team can be defined as: ‘Two or more people working together in an organised way to achieve the same aim’. When applied to interpreting, this definition may refer to how two interpreters can co-operate in the same space, but how can interpreters work together to achieve an improved interpretation?
This paper will define what co-interpreting means; will draw on examples of good practice between interpreters, Deaf or hearing; and recommend a curriculum for training.
Maya De Wit, EFSLI President: Sharing the experience and knowledge
Sign language interpreters often work alone and have few opportunities to share their expertise and knowledge. During this workshop participants will have an opportunity to learn from each other’s expertise through different activities. A variety of interpreting techniques will be discussed and can be put into practice, such as different strategies to ask for clarification while interpreting. This practical workshop provides a setting to experiment, share, and learn from each other.
John Hay: Interpreting for the deaf and dumb in the 19th century Scotland
The paper supported by the PowerPoint slides, examines the lives and work of two Sign Language Interpreters working in the 19th century Scotland - Robert Kinniburgh of Edinburgh and James Scrimgeour of Dundee, along with societal attitudes towards the use of such interpreters. The comments made by the distinguished historical novelist, Sir Walter Scott, will be revealed. Interpreting settings experienced by these two pioneers of interpreting would be covered. An example of using a deaf intellectual as a Deaf Aide for one well-published court case at the Glasgow High Court will be discussed in this paper. How Scrimgeour, a pillar of the community and a do-gooder, became interested in becoming interpreter for deaf Dundonians will be highlighted as well as the huge command of respect he had earned from his local deaf community. In spite of doubling up interpreting with their daily jobs, these two are true pioneers of today’s professional BSL/English interpreters working in Scotland.
Clark Denmark: Deaf Interpreters – 25 years on, a personal perspective and actual phenomena
I was one of early adopters to train as a Deaf Interpreter, with SASLI in early 1990’s. I have had several assignments ranging from local level to international level. I will discuss as to why and how I see the ‘Deaf Interpreter Phenomenon’ have developed. Issues concerning training, qualification and employment opportunities will be covered as well as barriers to the professionalism of Deaf Interpreters that exists. A comparison of such role will be discussed between such profession in this country and in the States (as well as Europe). I will aim to conclude my presentation with some predictions and the way forward of the profession.
Judith M Collins and John Walker: What is a Deaf interpreter?
There is a new ‘emerging profession’ – Deaf people working as ‘interpreters’ (or, as they are commonly called, ‘relay interpreters’). Interest in this role is widespread and much discussed. But there is confusion, and with confusion comes risk.
• How did Deaf interpreting start? What exactly is the definition of a Deaf interpreter? What is their role? In what type of settings do they work? Are they professionals? Do they follow interpreter professional ethics?
• What skills and abilities do Deaf interpreters need?
• What training and qualifications does/should a Deaf interpreter have? What needs to be added or changed to current standard interpreting courses to incorporate Deaf interpreters effectively? Do they have access to post qualification professional development and mentoring?
• What do ‘hearing’ interpreters need to learn in order to work with Deaf interpreters?
These are some of the questions that we will respond to in our paper, concluding with the proposition that the progress made by the profession of interpreting, as a whole should not be brushed aside when it comes to Deaf interpreters – we can learn from their experiences. We do not want to reinvent the wheel! A ‘profession’ made up of untrained, unqualified, and unregulated people, even though they may have many relevant skills and experiences, is not desirable or safe for the Deaf community. We will offer suggestions on how this can be turned around.
Christopher Stone and Robert Adam: Deaf translators from within the Deaf Community
This research explores community-based translation and interpreting undertaken by Deaf people for their community (Stone, 2007; 2005), and examines the status of Deaf bilinguals within the wider Deaf community situating it within its socio-historical contexts. We investigate the phenomenon of bilingual Deaf people functioning as unofficial translators in the Australian sign language community, who have been known informally as GHOST WRITE (ghost writers). The Deaf community is a collective community and several authors have focused on skills sharing (Lane, 1984, Padden, 1989). These have tended to focus on manual rather than literacy skills and this hidden history is only gradually emerging (Boudreault, 2005). ??We will report on preliminary findings from four, one-to-one, semi-structured ethnographic interviews (Spradley, 1979) of Australian ghost writers (aged range 55-85 ) carried out by an Australian ghost writer (aged mid-thirties) and follow-up email correspondence eliciting further examples and information regarding the types of translation activity and the context within which this has occurred and still occurs. Some insights will be given in relation to a Deaf translation norm and how this can inform non-Deaf interpreters of insider understandings of ally translation/interpreting.
CACDP: Sharing the load: evolving qualifications for an evolving profession
In 2007, CACDP joins SASLI in celebrating 25 years of existence: 25 years of developing training, accredited qualifications and professional standards in BSL/English interpreting. In a quarter of a century much has changed, and many times over, but one factor still remains: demand for interpreters still outweighs supply.
Today, in the 21st century, interpreters are sharing the load with a new kind of language professional: Deaf bi-lingual professionals. While many Deaf people are carrying out a variety of roles which may come under the realm of ‘interpreting and translation’, the majority are doing so without the training, qualifications and professional recognition enjoyed by their hearing counterparts.
This presentation will explore the variety of roles currently being carried out by Deaf people in the UK and consider why existing BSL/English Interpreting qualifications are inappropriate for this group of professionals. In doing so, this presentation will highlight the need to:
• Identify and describe the jobs that Deaf people do
• Define the professional standards required for each role
• Identify the qualifications that need to be developed
Catherine King, Rita McDade, Fiona Stewart and Linda Thomson: Cognitive Barriers – L1/L2. Why can’t I get it?
It could be argued that Interpreters and BSL Users have begun to navigate away from some of the traditional lexical items and BSL structures which are seen in use among the general community and are moving towards a different, less organic form of language use. This shift inevitably raises issues of lexical choice, domain appropriate language use and debates around definitions of Register with reference to BSL. This paper will attempt to examine some of these issues using video data to illustrate the journey that has been undertaken either consciously or unconsciously by BSL users and Interpreters alike.
This paper is the summation of a short term study that attempts to examine some of the lexical and structural issues evident in the BSL/English Interpreted event. By comparing both Spontaneous and Prepared Interpretations produced by working Interpreters and Translators and analysing the video data collected therein, choices made in situ can be examined and any underlying rationale for these can be illuminated. A small sample of both Native and Non-Native BSL Users Interpreters (working into and out of English) provide the data here discussed and the comparison will also take into account the differential in native and non-native choices, the reasons for this and the effects on the interpretation.
The paper attempts to provide us with an opportunity to step back from the immediacy of the Interpreted event with all its attendant pressures and allow us the space to take stock of the kinds of language use that is occurring regularly in the field. It is hoped that the overarching principles uncovered will serve as a guide towards a more organic language production and strategies to support development.
RNID: Continuous Professional Development
As the profession of BSL/English Interpreter has matured there has been an increase in discussion about what happens post-qualification. Is achieving qualified status the pinnacle of achievement or should there be more? The contention is that many professions require their members to continue to develop after qualification and Interpreters should be no different. In England the issue of Continuous Professional Development has been discussed by both ASLI and the IRP, with consideration being given to the mechanisms by which this can form part of the conditions for continued registration.
Working in partnership, ASLI and RNID launched pd4me in April 2006 to provide resources for interpreters to use in their professional development portfolio. The site contains useful information on the what, the why and the how of continuous professional development and offers pro-forma that can downloaded by the interpreter to record their development. Interpreters are encouraged to contribute development exercises, dilemmas for discussion in the forum and book reviews for books that they have found useful.
In the future it will be possible for interpreters to store their portfolios electronically, including video clips and elect to have them viewed by a mentor or professional body.