Sign Language Interpreting

Sign language interpreting mediates communication between signed and spoken (or between different signed) languages, most often serving Deaf and hearing participants.

Definition

The interpreting of communication involving at least one signed language, typically between a signed language and a spoken language.

Scope

This topic covers interpreting between signed and spoken languages: its modalities and settings, the recognition of sign languages as full natural languages, the visual and spatial dimensions that distinguish it from spoken-language interpreting, the role of Deaf interpreters, and the ethical debates over neutrality and the interpreter's presence. It connects to community interpreting, Deaf studies, and the history of sign-language linguistics. The treatment is descriptive.

Core questions

• How does interpreting in a visual-spatial modality differ from spoken-language interpreting?
• What is the role of Deaf interpreters?
• How does the recognition of sign languages as natural languages shape practice?
• Can sign language interpreters be neutral?

Key theories

Deconstructing the myth of neutrality

Melanie Metzger's discourse-analytic demonstration that sign language interpreters are participants who influence interaction, undermining the ideal of the interpreter as a neutral, non-present conduit.

Sign languages as natural languages

William Stokoe's foundational analysis showing that American Sign Language has its own phonology and grammar, establishing that signed languages are full languages and that interpreting between them and spoken languages is genuine cross-linguistic mediation.

History

Sign language interpreting professionalized from the 1960s, supported by Stokoe's demonstration that sign languages are natural languages and by Deaf civil-rights movements and legislation. Research established it as a distinct strand of interpreting studies, with Metzger's interactionist work and growing attention to Deaf interpreters and quality standards.

Debates

Neutrality and the interpreter's presence

As in spoken-language community interpreting, scholars contest whether sign language interpreters can or should be neutral, given evidence that they actively shape the interactions they mediate.

Key figures

• Melanie Metzger
• Jemina Napier
• William Stokoe

Seminal works

• stokoe1960
• metzger1999
• napier2010

Frequently asked questions

Is sign language interpreting the same everywhere?

No. Sign languages differ by country and community, so interpreters work between a specific signed language, such as American or British Sign Language, and a spoken language.

What is a Deaf interpreter?

A Deaf interpreter is a Deaf professional who works alongside a hearing interpreter, often to mediate for Deaf people with atypical language use or to provide interpretation between signed languages.