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
Related topics
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.