Page 10 - Reading Between the Sign Intercultural Communication for Sign Language Interpreters

Foreword

This book provides us with a penetrating look at a subject that up
until recently was rarely thought or written about. The commu-
nity of interpreters and interpreter educators should hungrily de-
vour it. Ms. Mindess has made a significant contribution to the
field of interpretation in her thoughtful and responsible journey
into the heart of the world of interpreters. As a profession, we
need to think together, and I am grateful for the opportunity to
think provided within these pages.
Reading Between the Signs also provides an excellent resource
for many groups. Working interpreters, interpreter training pro-
grams, and interpreter educators are the most obvious beneficia-
ries. Others include colleges and universities, K-12 faculty, and
administrators and staff involved in the education of Deaf people.
Support personnel, such as counselors, vocational rehabilitation
workers, and the like will gain from reading this book, as will
anyone else who happens to work with interpreters.
The history of the education of interpreters has only recently
provided this sort of input. It is so important to have it in such a
carefully thought-out, well-resourced and -researched form. For
years it was almost assumed that if one could sign, of course one
could interpret. Then as the model of the process of interpreta-
tion became more sophisticated, training in the art and science of
interpretation became more or less the standard. Still there was a
sense of something missing, but that something was elusive. In-
terpreters were trained with vocabulary drills, ethics lectures, and,

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–FM MINDESS PMKR 9 10/18/04, 11:19 AM