Page 206 - Reading Between the Sign Intercultural Communication for Sign Language Interpreters

Techniques for Cultural Adjustments 191

convey the “procedure” as a D and C or a triple bypass, the “test”
as a blood test or an eye test, and the “condition” as high blood
pressure or diabetes). The more information we can obtain in an
overview of the situation, the better we will be able to structure
the Deaf client’s comments in a way that is clear to the hearing
client and vice versa.
A few notes of caution are needed, however. First, take the
information gleaned from the waiting room chat and hold on to it
lightly. Once in the actual meeting, the Deaf client, just like any-
one else, has a right to change his or her mind, forget, or even lie
about what he or she told us previously. Second, sometimes we
are so good at establishing rapport with Deaf clients that they
develop too great an expectation of our support for them. It might
be necessary, if this seems to be happening, to remind the client
that we are there to serve both parties and that once we go into
the office, the client will need to explain everything he or she just
told us to the doctor or lawyer or social worker. Third, remember
that the waiting room chat is a nice but optional bonus. For a
variety of reasons, the Deaf client may decline to give you a pre-
view of the upcoming appointment.

Targeted Translation
Cultural misunderstandings in interpreted settings can be broadly
divided into two categories: those that stem from variations in
form and those that come from surprises in content. Quite often
in a question-and-answer session, for example, if we pay atten-
tion to the expected form of the answer and structure our transla-
tions so they elicit the anticipated form, things will flow smoothly.
A question might require a numerical response (How many times?
How often?), a narration (What did you do after the accident?), or
a description (What did it look like? What kind of pain did you
feel?).
Also, the questioner expects an answer based on a certain
time frame: the present (What is your current position?), the past
(When did these headaches first start?), or the future (How will
you pay for your college tuition?). The more we hone our ASL
skills to be able to target a specific kind of response to a question,
the more we can eliminate misunderstandings based on form.

08 MINDESS PMKR 191 10/18/04, 12:02 PM