Page 232 - Reading Between the Sign Intercultural Communication for Sign Language Interpreters

Cultural Sensitivity Shouldn’t End at Five O’Clock 217

Deaf community, explained to me how she uses analogies to illus-
trate her position on money while avoiding mentioning any ac-
tual figures. Sometimes she chooses car mechanics as an example
of those who get paid a minimum fee for their time, or plumbers
who get paid portal to portal, if that is a parallel to the situation in
question. At other times she will point out that doctors, dentists,
therapists, and hairdressers usually charge a cancellation fee for
missed appointments, as many of us do.
Priscilla recommends that we try educating Deaf consumers
on certain points about which they may be unaware, such as the
fact that the total bill for interpreting services often includes a
sizable sum for the agency that set up the assignment and found
the interpreters. Daniel suggests that instead of reacting defen-
sively to the money question, we give a sincere response such as
“Yes, it is true that I do get paid for my work. I hope doing my job
encourages Deaf and hearing people to better understand each
other and work together, so that things will improve and eventu-
ally bring about important changes.” Other interpreters have sug-
gested that we inform our inquirer if we often donate our services
or work pro bono to give back to the Deaf community (see sec-
tion “The Interpreter as Part of the Reciprocal Pool,” page 225).

At the Assignment

Before the Assignment
In chapter 8 we discussed the “waiting room chat” as a technique
to help the interpreter get an idea of what the assignment will be
about—main point, timeline, names of the people involved—all
in an effort to get a clear picture of the context in order to help us
do a better job of conveying the information to the hearing per-
son. In this section we will be focusing on those same moments
before the interpreting actually begins, but this time from the Deaf
person’s perspective.
As the interpreter, when meeting a Deaf client for the first
time, you know that there are a few things you need to clearly
establish before you can do your job (e.g., language preference,
educational level). Suppose, on the other hand, that you are a
Deaf person meeting a new interpreter with whom you will have
to share intimate details of your life. What would you want to get
a sense of first? Probably trust and comfort. For some people that

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