Page 184 - Reading Between the Sign Intercultural Communication for Sign Language Interpreters

The Interpreter’s Role and Responsibilities 169

“home signs”); working with Deaf children or other Deaf people
who have had little or no previous experience in an “interpreted
setting”; working in an emotionally charged situation where there
may be issues of trust, or in any situation where the hearing inter-
preter and the Deaf client do not completely understand each
other. The benefits of using trained Deaf interpreters are still not
widely recognized, and unfortunately they are often used only as
a last resort in situations (e.g., legal) where their use at the outset
might have avoided many misunderstandings.
The dynamics of the situation and the relationship of the par-
ticipants are altered when a Deaf relay interpreter is used. In most
cases, the hearing interpreter’s main responsibility will be to pass
on the spoken information to his or her Deaf cointerpreter, who
will then make any necessary cultural adjustments in communi-
cation with the Deaf client. Then the hearing interpreter vocalizes
what the relay interpreter has gleaned from the Deaf client. In
certain “challenging cases the Certified Deaf Interpreter and in-
terpreter who is hearing may work together to understand a deaf
individual’s message, confer with each other to arrive at their best
interpretation, then convey that interpretation to the hearing party”
(RID’s Proposed Standard Practice Paper). In practice, the Deaf
interpreter can relate to the Deaf client as a peer, and because of
the trust derived from shared group membership, he or she can
say certain things in a direct way that would be inappropriate, if
not insulting, coming from the hearing interpreter. For example,
if a Deaf person in a legal situation answers a yes/no question
with a long narrative, the relay interpreter, who is aware of the
hearing cultural norms of the situation, can inform the Deaf per-
son quite bluntly of the need to keep his or her answers short and
to the point.

Societal Factors
Moving on from the levels of individual and situational consider-
ations, there exist imbalances and discrimination endemic to our
society which contribute to unfair outcomes in certain interpret-
ing situations. We need to examine these areas carefully in order
to determine for what elements, if any, the interpreter can be
deemed responsible.
Power. First we will address the power differences inherent in
roles. If we look at the most common interpreting situations, we
find the following roles: doctor/patient, teacher/student, supervi-

07 MINDESS PMKR 169 10/18/04, 12:02 PM