Evolution of Theory, Evolution of Role: How Interpreting Theory Shapes Interpreter Role

Barbara Shaffer, 2013

RID was founded when and where?

June 16, 1964 in Muncie, Indiana at Ball State College

What was the workshop called in 1964, Muncie, Indiana?

Workshop on Interpreting for the Deaf

In Shaffer 2013, Shaffer argues that the metaphor not only was a way to describe our role as interpreters but also ?

Shaped our program curricula, our work, and the role itself.

What book can be argued as one of the first materials published by the signed language interpreting field, and when?

Interpreting for Deaf People (1965) by Stephen Quigley and Joseph Youngs

What was PL 89-333 and when was it passed?

An amendment to the Vocational Rehabilitation Act.

ASL/English interpreters viewed a as a “service” to vocational rehab. clients; therefore they were paid

Who wrote it and when was it published? Sign Language Structure: an Outline of Visual Communication Systems of the American Deaf

William Stokoe (1960)

What did Stokoe propose in 1960?

Communication of deaf Americans could be considered using the same linguistic tools as spoken or written languages

Who wrote it and when was it published? A Dictionary of American Sign Language on Linguistic Principles

William Stokoe, Carl Croneberg, Dorothy Casterline (1965)

Why does Shaffer discuss the timeline of early works on interpreting and the language itself?

To show that the profession of ASL/English interpreting was “born alongside” the field of ASL language linguistics

Around 1965, there was a philosophy that two types of deaf people existed. List and describe them.

1. “above average” deaf signers: literate deaf people, typically use what we call “transliterating”; use of fingerspelling acceptable for no asl/english equivalent

2. “low-verbal deaf persons”: interpreter should paraphrase, rephrase, define, simplify, give “sense” of idiomatic expressions

during the early days of ASL/English interpreting, what dynamic was taught and encouraged when interpreting for a “low-verbal” deaf person?

memorizing signed "paraphrases" i.e. “cataracts” THIN WHITE INSIDE EYE,

COVER PART USE TO SEE, SLOWLY GET WORSE, CAN'T SEE, MUST REMOVE

When was the conduit model “born”?

1964/1965

What is one analogy for the conduit model?

telephone: a link between people that does not exert a personal influence on either.

True or False: Shaffer argues the conduit phase was likely necessary

True

What is implicitly said by the conduit/machine model?

the message is not a subject warranting much consideration.

In Ingram’s 1974 model, what happens to the message?

It is encoded, transmitted and then decoded.

What is one idea that comes with viewing a message simply as an “utterance” to be decoded?

That meaning is found within the utterance alone; after meaning is extracted the form can be thrown out.

What does the theory of “grammar is fully explicit” actually mean? (Generative theory of linguistics)

Grammar has a finite set of rules that can be applied to generate all those and only those sentences that are grammatical in a given language.

Eugene Nida, biblical translator and researcher, popularized what?

an approach to translation that focuses on formal and dynamic (functional) equivalence

In Seleskovitch’s point of view what is one key component of a message?

the dynamic, real-time interaction among context, the communicators, and the actual utterances themselves - the time is critical. the same source message in a different moment in time, setting, etc. would render a different interpretation.

What are some of the component of the source language message, according to the meaning-based model of interpreting (Russell, 2005)

• Syntactic knowledge

• Semantic knowledge

• Associated knowledge and background experience

• Cultural Awareness

• Contextual knowledge

In Shaffer 2013, what is one main point?

Meaning is not solely words and phrases. It is dynamically co-constructed by discourse participants in a specific context. Interpreters are full discourse participants

What is “contextualization”?

an expansion technique used in discourse, to consider something in the situation it happend

In Shaffer 2013, who was credited as one of the earliest to discuss “bilingual/bicultural”?

Etilvia Arjona (1978)

What are Sterwart, Schein, and Cartwright (2004) saying with the “look under the bonnet” vs. “look under the hood” question?

The interpreter is making online decisions that the communication participants

cannot understand each other, even with the use of an interpreter, unless

the interpreter explains things she believes are unfamiliar to the other discourse

participants.

What do Sterwart, Schein, and Cartwright (2004) have to say about the Bi-Bi model?

It is not too far removed from helper and gives the interpreter the autonomy to decide what their precise role is on a case by case basis.

culture-specific

Emic - anglo american concept of fairness

universal

etic - fire, moon, and sun

What is one reason dynamic equivalence is so difficult?

Culturally specific words must be translated into the target language (and culture) where no such cultural referent perhaps exists.

According to Humphrey and Alcorn (2001), an interpreter interprets what?

1. Explicitly stated ideas

2. information that is conveyed implicitly

According to Humphrey and Alcorn (2001), what do interpreters need to make decisions regarding linguistic and cultural expansions and reductions?

1. linguistic need

2. cultural need, or

3. difference in experiential frame

What is difference in experiential frame?

the varied life experiences of deaf people that interpreters face and the necessity of providing “experientially specific information so the recipient can have a schema allowing information to be successfully conveyed and understood.”

e.g. why would a guest take their shoes off at the door (it could be a cultural norm for them)

How would you define culture?

Example from Cliffor Geertz

“"[Culture is] a historically transmitted pattern of meanings embodied in symbols, a system of inherited conceptions expressed in symbolic forms by means of which men communicate, perpetuate, and develop their knowledge about and attitudes toward life.”

Schneider gives a definition of culture and makes a distinction between two elements. What are they and what is that distinction?

Culture vs. norms

norms that tell us how to behave

culture tells us how to make sense of things.

Who wrote Reading Between the Signs: Intercultural Communication for Sign Language Interpreters and when?

Anna Mindess (1999)

What is one topic Mindess explores explicitly?

the idea of the interpreter as mediator

Mindess discusses the appropriateness of calling an interpreter a “cultural mediator” She does conclude that this is an appropriate role however, we do not currently operate that way.

In what ways do interpreters differ from cultural mediators?

The nature of involvement.

The understood, explicit goal of a mediator is actively influence the situation and work toward agreement among the parties

Shaffer likens Mindess’ view on bicultural mediator to what term?

Ally

True or False: According to Shaffer, “ally” is a model.

False

Describe what it means for an interpreter to be an ally.

decisions regarding interpreting should made within the social and political culture surrounding deaf and hard of hearing adults.

What areas does Shaffer believe still need to be explored in order for interpreters to call themselves “cultural mediator”

1. It is not always obvious what an interpreter should do with cultural differences

   1. is the goal cultural exchange, what about the risk of “bleaching” an interaction

2. It is not obvious how some cultural elements show up in linguistic constructions, either ASL or English

3. How does an interpreter juggle such an active role with a belief that they should not alter the content of the message?

Janzen and Shaffer (2008) state what about contextualizing?

A speaker will contextualize regardless of source language. WHY? Intersubjectivity.

What is intersubjectivity?

How people co-construct meaning in a given situation

• relies on ability to add the experiences, knowledge stores, and perspectives of others

• shared meaning constructed by people and their interactions with each other

• allows us to adjust our discourse accordingly

What are Interlocutors?

a person who takes part in a dialogue or conversation.

When it comes to contextualization, what do Janzen and Shaffer (2008) recommend an interpreter do?

Start the interpretation assuming a shared understanding exists without needing additional context by the interpreter