Page 222 - Reading Between the Sign Intercultural Communication for Sign Language Interpreters

9

Cultural Sensitivity Shouldn’t End

at Five O’Clock

If we have become sensitized to cultural differences and can ef-
fectively manage them while interpreting the messages that pass
between our Deaf and hearing clients, we have all our bases cov-
ered, right? Probably not. As we saw in chapter 4, our American
tendency to compartmentalize our lives is not universally shared.
We may feel that when our interpreting assignment is finished,
our job is over, but that may not be the way it is viewed by many
Deaf people. Most interpreter training programs focus solely on
the tasks of interpreting spoken English into ASL and vice versa.
Lacking a keen awareness of our relationship to the Deaf commu-
nity, however, even the most technically proficient interpreter
among us may be shunned by the community he or she wishes to
serve.
None of the areas we are about to examine have hard-and-fast
rules. Nevertheless, they are worthy of thought and discussion
among ourselves and with the Deaf people without whom we
would not have a profession. In the end, each interpreter will have
to make individual decisions about what is appropriate to his or
her particular situation. The attention given to these and other
related topics, however, is sure to pay off in better working rela-
tionships, more open communication, and better feelings between
the two communities.
Since this chapter is, in part, about the way that Deaf people

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