Page 185 - Reading Between the Sign Intercultural Communication for Sign Language Interpreters

170 Reading Between the Signs

sor/employee, social service worker/applicant, lawyer/client. In
most cases the former role is occupied by a hearing person and
the latter by a Deaf person. This means that there is an inherent
imbalance in the power structure. Describing intergroup commu-
nication in general, John J. Gumperz and Jenny Cook-Gumperz
point out certain elements of such asymmetrical relations:
In interviews the interviewer chooses the questions,
initiates topics of discussions, and evaluates responses.
The interviewees respond, i.e., they answer. Often they
are expected to volunteer information but what it is they
can say is strictly constrained by expectations which
are rarely made explicit...tacitly understood rules of
preference, unspoken conventions as to what counts as
valid and what information may or may not be intro-
duced prevail. (9)
When the participants hail from different cultural backgrounds,
the one in the position of lesser power is at a decided disadvan-
tage. However, if the interviewer erroneously assumes that the
interviewee shares the same cultural viewpoint, as often happens
when hearing Americans encounter Deaf Americans, the result-
ing miscommunication may be even more subtle and destructive.
The participant structure of such events thus reflects a
real power asymmetry underneath the surface equal-
ity, a serious problem when the lesser communicator
does not know the rules. The issue is compounded by
the fact that what is evaluated appears to be neutral.
Evaluators tend to concentrate on presentation of facts
and information, or problem solving and reasoning
abilities, so that underlying sources of ambiguity are
not ordinarily discovered. (9)
Although it is not within the interpreter’s role to even out the
power imbalance, we need to be aware of its presence. In such
situations, the Deaf person may benefit from the presence of an
advocate, who would work to achieve a greater balance of power
between the participants. As more and more Deaf people attain
higher positions, however, these power dyads may be reversed,
with a hearing person answering the questions of a Deaf princi-
pal, Deaf lawyer, or Deaf college professor.
Even though the imbalance of power between our Deaf and
hearing consumers is not within our control, there is a crucial

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