Page 65 - Reading Between the Sign Intercultural Communication for Sign Language Interpreters

50 Reading Between the Signs

It would be quite interesting if the Deaf community had a
formal system of justice to compare with those described above.
In its absence, it would seem that the closest parallel would prob-
ably be to look at an exclusively Deaf organization like the Deaf
club still found in many cities and see how those who break the
rules are handled. In a classic example, a treasurer (such as the
one depicted in the Deaf play Tales from a Clubroom by Bernard
Bragg and Eugene Bergman 1981) who absconds with the trea-
sury may be punished by temporary ostracism from the group.
This practice fits the collectivist principle of ostracism as punish-
ment. After a suitable period of time has passed the ex-treasurer
can then be allowed back into the club and may even hold an-
other position of responsibility (but not the post of treasurer).

We Are Not Imprisoned in a Low-Context World
Although American culture is by and large low context, we all
have many moments of high-context communication with those
people we know well: spouse, mate, partner, family, closest friends.
In these relationships we share a great deal of information about
each other, memories of past experiences, details of our daily rou-
tines, and common jargon. We do not need to spell everything
out. Sometimes one word or a quick “How’d it go?” will suffice
when both of you know that what you are referring to is the first
day of a new job, an afternoon at the zoo with six kids, or a long-
dreaded root canal.
Conversely, we all have experienced the frustration of being
the only one who does not understand what is going on in a high-
context situation. A good example is interpreting at a staff meet-
ing of a business corporation, especially if it is your first time
there. All of the staff members present, including the Deaf work-
ers, share a common vocabulary of acronyms, jargon, and techni-
cal terms they don’t bother to explain to you because they forget
that the interpreter is not privy to this specific terminology. If it
happens to be a computer-oriented workplace, you may wonder
if there is any English being spoken at all.

Intuitive versus Analytical
Another way to look at high context versus low context is to com-
pare them with intuitive and analytical approaches to a task at
hand. A low-context, analytical approach would emphasize data
collection, planning, and causality. A high-context, intuitive ap-

03 MINDESS PMKR 50 10/18/04, 11:23 AM