Deaf interpreters on television: challenging power and responsibility
Temas
Detalles
Signed language interpreters find themselves in a continuously evolving profession. Dynamicsin society, the Deaf community and the interpreting domain pose challenges and createopportunities. The emergence of Deaf interpreters (DIs) (Section 2) is one evolution in theinterpreting profession. In this article, we will describe the traditional working domains of DIs(Section 2.1.) and argue why interpreting on television could be considered a “Deaf job”, basedon nine different dimensions (Section 3). To illustrate how the emergence of DIs on televisionchallenges power and responsibility, we will describe a case study (Section 4) based on recentdevelopments in Flanders, Belgium concerning in-vision interpreting. The authors were bothinvolved in these developments as participant observers (Denscombe 2003). The analysis of thecase study, based on direct observation and informal conversations, document analysis andanalysis of recorded performances of interpreter applicants and motivational interviews, leads tofour future challenges (Section 4.4.). We conclude that by taking on these challenges, both DIs,HIs (hearing interpreters), the Deaf community and mainstream broadcasters will benefit,resulting in real ownership by the Deaf community of their language.
En: Meurant L. et al. (coord.): Sign Language Research, Uses and Practices: Crossing Views on Theoretical and Applied Sign Language Linguistics.