So You Want to be an Interpreter?

Fourth Edition

Anglophone

A person who uses English based communication, as compared to French based communication, (common term in Canada for English speaking people)

AVLIC (Association of Visual Language Interpreters of Canada)

The national professional association and certifying body of SLPs in Canada; has provincial chapters in a central office in Edmunton, Alberta

Audism

a negative stigma toward anyone who does not hear; like racism or sexism, audism judges, labels, and limits individuals on the basis of whether a person hears or speaks

Auditory Feedback Loop

The channel through which hearing people hear (and monitor) their own voice as they speak (alt term: backchannel feedback)

Aural-Oral Languages

Languages based on a structured set of linguistic rules in which the communication is based on sound; spoken languages spoken through out the world fall into this category

Benefactors are Perfect

an idea frequently held by members of marginalized groups that members of the oppressor group are somehow superbeings; also referred to as magical thinkers

Bicultural

an individual who has knowledge about 2 cultures;

an individual who has developed socially appropriate behaviors necessary to fit in each of the two cultures (further it implies that the individual has the ability to shift from culture to culture, displaying socially appropriate behaviors at the right time with the appropriate group)

Bi-Bi Bilingual Bicultural Philosophy of Interpretation

A philosophy of interpreting based on the belief that effected interpretation requires cultural and linguistic meditation in order to accomplish to accomplish speaker goals and maintain dynamic equivalence; based on the recognition of deaf people as members of an oppressed minority; accepts ASL as a language and deaf culture as that which encompasses the norms, values, and traditions of this community of people

Bi-Bi Education

an approach which stresses ASL as the instructional language for all subjects accept English, with an ultimate goal of developing competency in both English and ASL; based on the recognition of deaf people as members of an oppressed minority; accepts ASL as a language and deaf culture as that which encompasses the norms, values, and traditions of this community of people

B Language

refers to ones second language one acquired by living in that country where that language is spoken, by interacting frequently with people who use that language or by studying

COI (Certificate of Interpretation)

the professional certificate awarded by AVLIC to individuals who successfully complete both knowledge and skills assessment in effect so long as the member adheres to the AVLIC COE and maintains annual active membership with fees paid in full

Certified Deaf Interpreter

a deaf interpreter who has taken and passed the RID certification

C Language

a language one can "manage" to comprehend what is spoken/signed however the individual speaks/signs with a heavy accent, improper grammatical structure and frequent semantic errors

Classifiers

a specific set of signs that servs several functions in ASL; some are iconic which (look somewhat like the object they represent) others are arbitrary (there are no obvious reason for that sign or handshape to be used as a classifiers for the noun it represents);

Clients/Consumers

a term used to refer to those for whom sign language interpreters work; includes both deaf and hearing

Cloze Skills

the ability to mentally fill in the blanks when part of an utterance is obscured or when the receiver does not understand a term or phrase

Code of Ethics

set of guidelines that require an individual to develop effective decision making skills, a clear sense of their own beliefs and values, understand how society defines right/wrong, good/bad, and have the ability to apply all of this to spur of the moment, professional interactions

Code Switching

Conscious or unconscious movement from ASL to English Sign or English Sign to ASL, this often occurs due to the experience of oppression to deaf people in Canada and the US

Communication Dynamics

The way people in a communication interaction react to or engage with one another and to the overall interaction

Communication Facilitation Philosophy

a set of beliefs regarding deaf individuals ASL, and communication dynamics that influences the way a person views their role and work as an interpreter; includes a belief of deaf people as handicapped; ASL as a means of communicating with less educated individuals, sensitivity to environmental factors that influence communication

Communication

a continuous, transactional process involving 2 or more people who occupy different but overlapping environments; as they seek to share information or ideas, they create a relationship by simultaneously sending and receiving messages some of which are clearly and overtly delivered, others that carry implied and unstated information; messages are often distorted by physical and psychological noise

Conceptually Accuratly Signed English (CASE)

manual code for English that combines English grammatical order with ASL signs and some invented initialized signs; choice of signs based on the intended concept or idea of the speaker.

Conduit or Machine Philosophy

a set of beliefs regarding deaf individuals, ASL, and communication dynamics that influences the way a person views their role and work as an interpreter; includes a belief of deaf people as handicapped and needing to learn to take care of themselves; Word-For-Sign equivalance between signs and spoken english; and the interpreter as having no responsibility for the interaction or communication dynamics taking place

Conference of Interpreter Trainee (CIT)

an American organization of educators who teach interpretation; membership is international

Confidentiality

the agreement that information that takes place in a professional relationship is not to be shared with others outside of the specific setting and relationship

Congenital Deafness

to be born deaf or hard of hearing

consecutive interpretation

the process of interpreting into the target language after the speaker completes one or more ideas in the source language and pauses while the interpreter transmits that information

Consultative

when this register is used one of the individuals involved in the interchange has "expert" status or enhanced command of the topic at hand

Contact Varieties

a mixture of 2 languages resulting from prolonged language contact between members of different linguistic communities - includes code switching, code mixing, and lexical borrowing; sometimes referred to as Pidgin Signed English

Critical Thinking Skills

the ability to break the whole into its parts to examine in detail to look more deeply into a text and determine its nature by engaging in disciplined reasoning, inferring and deducing in order to extract the message carried "below the words/signs" or "between the lines" as well as the information explicitly stated

cultural and linguistic mediation

interpreting in such a way that information has equivalent meaning and impact for individuals with different languages in cultural schema; requires an interpreter to make cultural and linguistic expansions and reductions.

Cultural Expansion

providing the contextual information required to make sense out of something that is signed or said to someone without the requisite schema or experiential frame; done within the form of the interpretation

Cultural Reduction

reducing the volume and sometimes the detail of information within the information without effecting the meaning intended; done to meet communication and cultural norms of a target language

Cultural View of Deaf people

accepts deaf people as normal, capable human beings, rather than as disabled or abnormal

Culture

includes knowledge, beliefs, art, morals, laws, customs and any other capabilities and habits acquired of the society; Set of learned behaviors of a group of people who have their own language, values, rules of behavior, and traditions

Deaf

used to denote individuals who, in addition to having a significant amount of hearing loss, function by choice as members of the deaf community, subscribing to the unique cultural norms, values, and traditions of that group

deaf (deaf view)

a label of pride and solidarity for those who have similar experiences, use a shared form of communication and who subscribe to deaf cultural values, norms, and traditions

deaf (hearing view)

refers to the inability to hear as compared to "normal" hearing, generally seen as a deficit or an impairment; measured by dB (alt. terms - hearing impaired, or mild/moderate/severe hearing loss)

deaf interpreter

a deaf person trained in the art of interpretation, who facilitates communication between a deaf individual who is using non standard ASL, a regional dialect or some other form of visual communication and hearing interpreter.

decibels (dB)

a unit for expressing the relative intensity of sounds on a scale from 0 for the average least perceptive sound to about 130 for the average level where sound induces pain.

Dependence on the "Benefactor"

the phenomena of minority group members being dependent upon members of the power group for certain things they perceive they are unable to do for themselves. Discourse style the way a language requires the information be presented in a monologue or dialogue.

Dynamic Equivalence

an interpreted event, maintaining the "chemistry" between a speaker and their audience that allows a connection to be made and the speakers goals to be accomplished

Empowerment of the Client

Behaving in a way that supports another’s right to make decisions within interpersonal interaction by vesting control in the hands of consumers then slowly in the hands of the interpreter; avoiding the imposition of ones own opinions, advice, sense of values, or preferred form of communication on others.

Empowerment

a process of reclaiming one owns power in order to take charge of ones own life

English Based Signs

a generic term used to refer to a variety of signing systems based on English structure, rather than the structure of ASL (includes RM, SEE1, SEE2, CASE)

Environmental Factors

phenomenon in the area surrounding communication that can effect the interaction, including lights, extraneous auditory or visual noise, distance from the interpreter to the speaker, distance from the interpreter to the audience

Equivocal Language

words, signs, or phrases that can be interpreted in more than one way often misleading or confusing to the listener

Ethical Behavior

making choices and acting in a way that respects others; grows out of a strong moral sense, requires the ability to think critically and the courage to choose to do the right thing

Ethics

behavioral standards - a set of principles that defines what a judged appropriate or inappropriate, right or wrong

Ethnocentric

an attitude that ones own race or culture is superior to other cultures

Euphimestic Language

the use of socially acceptable terms and phrases in place of blunt, descriptive words/phrases (ex: powder room)

External Noise

actual physical factors that interfere with communication; includes things like flickering lights, squeal of microphone, incessant coughing

Fatalism or Passivity

the tendency of members of an oppressed group to feel powerless to change or strike back at "the system"; a "go with the flow" and "don't rock the boat" attitude

Fear of Freedom

a lack of determined action that might lead to true equality and empowerment based on fear and sense of inferiority that of an oppressed group, in spite of their anger about the injustice, discrimination and marginalization they experience

Frankophone

a term used in Canada to refer to people who use French based communication, as compared to English based communication

Frozen Form

information or texts that are "fixed"- written, video taped, and audio taped. They never change their form. (example: Star Spangled Banner, The Lords Prayer)

Hearing Impaired

a term used by hearing people in an attempt to politely refer to deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals; viewed by deaf and hard of hearing people as negative and stigmatizing

Group Oppression

a situation in which the dominant group denigrates members of a minority, including yourself - worth, abilities, intelligence, and right to be different and affirmed in the difference; includes a denial of the minority group, language and opportunities to use it and denigration of their culture

Helper Philosophical Frame

Views deaf people as handicapped, limited, unable to fully manage their personal and financial needs, believes that deaf people are mentally, emotionally, or experimentally incapable of fully understanding the world around them

High Visual Orientation (HVO)

a term used to refer to individuals who have no language skills in ASL, LSQ, English, French, or any other language resulting from a developmental disability or because of educational or social deprivation; alt terms minimal language skills or competency

Horizontal Hostility

the tendency of members of a minority group to turn its anger on other members of its own group; results range from barbed comments and putdowns to verbal or physical attacks or physical violence

Institutionalized Oppression

attitudes taught overtly or covertly in schools, through the media, and in homes and churches that result in the denigration of a minority groups language, culture, and personhood

Interpretation

the process of changing a message from one language to another conveying all essential elements of meaning and maintaining dynamic equivalence; a highly sophisticated task involving complex thinking and analytical strategies

Interpreter

one who takes a source language and after working through a complex mental process expressed the language into the target language, maintaining essential elements of meaning and dynamic equivalence

LSQ

The rule governed language used by most deaf people in French speaking areas of Canada

Lagtime

the time used by the interpreter to analyze a source language utterance and to make cultural and linguistic adjustments before producing in the target language

Lineage of Deaf Children

90% of all deaf children are born to hearing families who have no deaf relatives in their extended family

Linear Grammar

Grammatical structure of a language where lexical items and parts of speech are produced singularly one at a time and a string of lexical units

Linguistic and Cultural Expansions/Reductions

Manipulating the target language so it contains all of the essential elements of meaning expressed in the source language as to fit the target language of communication norms

Linguistic Expansion

Stating implied or "understood" information or ideas present in the source language overtly in the interpretation when this information is required of the communication norms of the interpretation

Linguistic Fluency

being able to manipulate a language with the fines of the native or near native user of the language this includes being able to properly shift registers, to discuss a variety of technical and non technical topics, and to "play" with the language (play on words, or play on signs)

Linguistic Reduction

reducing the volume and detail of information present in the source language without effecting the meaning intended; done due to the linguistic norms and expectations in the target language

Linguistics

The study of languages and the structures of how they are composed

Machine Philosophy

a set of beliefs regarding deaf individuals, ASL, and communication dynamics which influences a way a person views, her/his role and work as an interpreter; includes a belief of deaf people as handicapped and needing to learn how to take care of themselves word for sign equivalence for sign equivalence between signs and spoken English

Manually Coded English

a variety of English based signing systems to represent the aural-oral language of English (RM, SEE1, SEE2. CASE)

Mentoring (Twinning)

an arrangement in which a more experienced interpreter "adopts" a less experienced interpreter showing her the ropes, introducing her the deaf community, and serving as a sounding board to review and evaluate the less-experienced interpreters professional behavior, decision-making, and quality of interpretation or transliteration

Minimul Language Competency

term used to refer to individuals who have no language skills in ASL, LSQ, English, French or any other language due to brain damage

Modality

the channel through which a message is expressed, specifically spoken (aural-oral) or signed (visual-gestural)

Multi-Leveled Grammar

the ability of a language to produce more than one lexical item or more than one part of speech simultaneously

Math of the Misguided Child

a belief of a majority group that individuals in a minority group and people don't know what’s best for them and they require "guidance" by the majority group

Myths

traditional stories that explore the world view of a group of people or that explains the practice or belief

Need for Approval from Marginalized Group Members

the expectations and need for some expression of appreciation and gratitude of the majority group and the minority group failure to achieve approval results from victimization

Negative View of the Oppressed Group

Stigmatization of members of the minority group because they do not measure up to the standards set by the majority; the group is marginalized systematically shut out of opportunities of equality

Non-Manual Signals

a set of facial-physical markers (behaviors that accompany signs in ASL) conveys linguistic grammatical and effective information; signs absent the non-manual signals result in non-linguistic and non sensical utterances

Oppression

unjust or excessive power or position; results in disenfranchisement of others

Oral Deaf People

Deaf people who do not used ASL, prefer to use speech, and speech-reading primary form of communication

Oral Transliteration

Making spoken English visible for an Oral deaf individual requires repeating in what is being said without using speech selecting words that are most easily speech-readable and sometimes using a gesture for clarification

Oral Transliterator

one who listens to a spoken English message then who clearly changes into readable form for a deaf consumer who uses speech and speech reading as form of communication

Paralinguistic Elements

Elements that accompany and add meaning to the expression including gestures, tone of voice/size of signs, visual/vocal affect, etc.

Passive Voice

a type of sentence construction in which the actor performing the action indicating by the verb isn’t overtly identified

Paternalism (possessive consciousness)

a caretaker attitude by members of the dominant group toward minority group based on the assumption that they are unable to make appropriate decisions and need to be taken care of

Pathological View of Deaf People

a view of deaf people as disabled, imperfect human beings

stereotypical labels historically assigned to deaf people in literature

Physiological Noise

Biological factors that interfere with communication; (ex: illness, exhaustion, or hunger)

Pidgin Sign Language

older (an incorrect) term used to refer to contact varieties or blended forms of English often used when deaf and hearing people attempt to communicate

Pragmatic Use of Language (Pragmatic Rules)

the way a language is actually used rather than language function; helps us make sense of the language we encounter in our interactions with others and determine the meaning of the utterance within the context

Process Models of Interpreation

attempts to graphically demonstrate complex mental activities, decisions made, and the factors influencing an interpretation; some models are based on formal research and others have been developed by the long-time practitioners based on reflection and introspection of the pro

Processing Time

the time used by the interpreter to analyze the source language utterance and to make cultural and linguistic adjustments before producing an equivalent message in the target language

Professional Competence

having the knowledge and skills base, as well as ethical judgement of the task of the professional in a given field

Professional Distance

a social, psychological, and physical boundary established ensured that people function within appropriate professional roles (protects professional and client)

Professional

people working in a field in which they are expected to hold the interests of their clients paramount of all decisions made; have special knowledge, licensure, or certification, adhere to COE; expected to be trustworthy, be prepared, able to deal with information in a discrete manner and avoid inappropriate emotional involvement of the client