Towards a multimodal university: In favour of higher education studies in sign language interpreting and translation in Spain
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Detalles
This article argues in favour of higher education studies in sign language (SL) related disciplines, more specifically, sign language interpreting and translation (SLIT) – focusing on the Spanish, and Basque, academic situation and societal needs. Firstly, we offer an overview of higher education SL teaching and SLIT training in Europe and Spain. Secondly, we examine the societal and academic needs and possibilities of SLIT in Spain and the Basque Autonomous Community (BAC). For this purpose, we review the literature on deaf education and related topics, such as literature on educating interpreters or SL teaching, and provide information taken from a focus group held in December 2022 thanks to the collaboration of CNSE (the confederation of deaf people in Spain), Euskal Gorrak (the deaf federation of the BAC), ESHIE (the SL interpreters’ association in the BAC), FILSE (the SL interpreters’ federation in Spain), and CNLSE (the centre for the linguistic normalisation of Spanish Sign Language). From the information gathered, it is inferred that there is a need to tackle the academic status of SLIT – and other SL-related disciplines – that clashes with the urgent need for more SLIT-trained professionals. Finally, we conclude that we must work towards accessible, inclusive universities that embrace multimodality.