Page 217 - Reading Between the Sign Intercultural Communication for Sign Language Interpreters

202 Reading Between the Signs

Internet…”) that there is a new experimental drug for my condi-
tion,” the doctor would probably treat the patient’s concerns much
more seriously.
In interpreting the Deaf patient’s comments I am not suggest-
ing that we invent a newspaper article, only that we downplay the
chatty tone. Perhaps something like, “Recently, I was made aware
of a new medication for my condition….” If we have the benefit
of the waiting room chat to get a preview of the patient’s con-
cerns, identify the function of the statement as invoking an au-
thority, perhaps reduce the context by summarizing the details of
the friend’s experience, and highlight the request for information
as the point, the doctor may be able to satisfy the patient’s in-
quiry after all.

Educational Scenario

Scenario 5
Hearing Professor: I am glad you came in to discuss your pa-
per. Hmmm...your choice of topic is fine, you have a few good
examples...but I do have some concerns about your thesis....
I’m not sure it is strong enough to support a paper of this
length.

Deaf Student: You mean, make the thesis statement longer?
As cited in chapter 6, this scenario went on much longer as
misunderstanding compounded misunderstanding. Let’s see if
highlighting the point early on could have nipped the problem in
the bud. Depending on how much lag time we allow ourselves,
we may already begin signing before we hear the tip-off phrase,
“…but I do have some concerns about your thesis.” That is the
point. We may have gotten a clue that the point was on its way
from the “leading-up-to-something” tone of the professor’s voice
and from our familiarity with the sandwich approach to giving
criticism. Once we identify the point and determine that it is a
critical comment, it is essential to make that clear in our transla-
tion. If we have already signed the comments about the topic and
the examples, we may decide to preface the next statement with
the sign POINT or POINT WHAT? T-H-E-S-I-S…. The signs CON-
CERN or WORRY may not be emphatic enough. Using PROBLEM

08 MINDESS PMKR 202 10/18/04, 12:02 PM