Page 195 - Reading Between the Sign Intercultural Communication for Sign Language Interpreters
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180 Reading Between the Signs
In addition, it is misguided to assume that by interpreting the
Deaf person’s comment literally he or she will gain an understand-
ing of hearing culture. As anyone who has spent time in other
countries knows, it is extremely difficult to figure out the rules of
another culture based on what we perceive as people’s response
to our behavior. To ourselves, our own behavior always feels right.
Even if we suspect that we have made a faux pas, how do we
guess if it was the words we used, our excessive eye contact (or
lack of it), or the clothes we were wearing that provoked a nega-
tive reaction?
If we feel that part of our job is to educate Deaf and hearing
people about each other’s cultures, we can certainly make the
attempt, but not while interpreting. We may choose to educate
our clients through culturally sensitive suggestions. We might, for
instance, say to the hearing consumer, “You don’t need to say
‘Tell him’; just speak directly to him.” “The term deaf and dumb is
out-of-date. You can just say deaf.” Or “May I make a suggestion?
It might be clearer if you could give some examples.” In the same
way, we may offer the Deaf consumers some suggestions before
or after the actual interpreting takes place, especially if they ask
us. I am thinking of one Deaf man who was nervous about ap-
pearing in traffic court for the first time and asked me what was
the proper way to address the judge. I was pleased to be able to
tell him that the accepted term of address is “Your Honor.” As an
interpreter, however, it is not my job to penalize a Deaf consumer
who does not know that we are expected to call the judge by that
title or even that there may be a special title at all, because in his
or her culture titles are not used. My job is to recognize the facial
expression/body posture in ASL that demonstrates a submissive
or respectful attitude to authority and translate that into “Your
Honor.”
Why Should We Do Cultural Adjustments At All?
There is another well-intentioned but misinformed resistance to
the concept of cultural adjustment, which I have heard expressed
by some hearing and deaf consumers as well as by a few inter-
preters. Their basic argument is that if the interpreter takes it upon
him- or herself to adjust for cultural differences between Deaf and
hearing people, members of the two cultures will never be ex-
posed to or acknowledge their different ways of doing things and
consequently will miss the opportunity to discover the fascinating
07 MINDESS PMKR 180 10/18/04, 12:02 PM