InterpreT(h)ing

As you may know,

translating and interpreting come from the same core. Van Cleve (Ed.) (1987: 89) defined it as "the act of rendering a message from one language to another language." Though it comes from the same core, Pochhacker (2004: 10) differentiate it with its immediacy: interpreting usually performed here and now or in other words provide verbal translation, whereas translating is produced written text from target language to source language (Samuelsson-Brown, 2006: 89).

Sign language interpreting, as Turner (2006: 318) stated, "aligns analytically, professionally, and pedagogically with other forms of interpreting." However, Sign Language interpreting (SLI) is indeed a new field that just started around the mid-1960s (Van Cleve, 1987: 91).

In the early time, SLI is done by the hearing children of Deaf (or family/friend), signing parents (Turner, 2006: 318). Also, it was blended with the "helper" role (Pivac, 2009: 22). That being said, SLI back then was not considered a profession as it is now. Also, SLI only happen in certain circumstances, such as medical settings or legal settings.

As mentioned above, SLI technically has the same foundation as another spoken language interpreting. But, they are different, modality-wise. Sign language is visual-spatial languages (Napier, 2008: 251), whereas spoken language is aural-oral modality language (Hill, 2015: 147). It means, Sign Languages use hands and space around the speaker to produce language, while spoken languages use vocal cords, mouth, and tongue to produce language. This matter of fact does affect the working situation on the interpreter, in terms of technical setting.

[To give you a general understanding of spoken language interpreting, you can watch the Wired videos here.]

The first and foremost,

I wanted to mention is the position of the interpreter and vice versa. The "visibility of the interpreters by the audience and of the deaf audience by the interpreter" (Van Cleve, 1987: 96) is one of the most important things to note. This situation, often time, get less attention.

https://id.pinterest.com/pin/100979216631462286/

Like mentioned before, Sign Language is a visual-three dimensional language. so that means the interlocutors have to be face-to-face. Usually, the interpreter stands/sits by the side of the speaker. This, from my personal view, is to facilitate the interpreters so that they can get a clear hearing from what the speaker says.

I experienced a few times where the event organizer didn't even provide a position for me to stand/sit. If that situation happened it would disturb other attendants because we ended up moving the chairs that have been organized before.

Besides position, SLI must be performed without any distraction in front of it; such as passing by people. In a certain event, there may be some professional photographer that walk around the entire room. But sometimes, they also (maybe unintentionally) blocking the interpreter just because they want to take a good shot.

If any of those situations occurred, both parties would be distracted: the interpreter and the Deaf audience. If both parties got distracted, it may cause misunderstanding because the information did not transfer or rendered fully.

Another thing that I wanted to address

is the working duration for one interpreter per assignment. Based on the Gallaudet Encyclopedia of Deaf People and Deafness vol. 2 (1987:95), one person could spend 4 hours (maximum) in a single day, with a break. Or we can break it down to 50 to 60 minutes per assignment with 5 to 10 minutes breaks included. This situation explicitly conveys to at least hired two interpreters so each interpreter could take a break. However, this is not the reality I've met.

At least, I've experienced doing it for two hours straight, without a break. Or even longer. The worst one was when I and one other interpreter, spend 5 days straight interpreting with at least 5 hours assignment (with no break), a day. Which means I did 25 hours interpreting nonstop.

What I want to emphasize here is just give the interpreter a break.

The interpreter has the right to take a break. If the condition and situation are not feasible to hire two (or more) interpreters, I think the Deaf audience and the event organizer have to be understanding to give the interpreter a break. However, this is not the justification for the interpreter to take break without consideration.

The last thing I wanted to address is

often time the event organizer considered us (the interpreter) as the "helper" or the "manager" of the Deaf community. The question such as "How many people will attend here?" or "What time they will come?" are often addressed to the interpreter. Sign Language interpreter has a clear duty that being said in the title itself.

[You may want to read my previous writing; some part of it talking about Sign Language interpreter and the "helper" role.]

However, all those situations mentioned above may be caused due to not-yet available "official" institutions which in charge of managing and providing interpreter services. In other words, there is still no standardization for Sign Language interpreter here in Indonesia.

There are some code ethics and standardization that have been launched, but it's not launched by the governmental institution; it is exclusively owned by a local university.

That all being said, 

let's not talk about who is right or wrong. Let's just understanding each other to create a conducive environment for both parties: Event organizers who wish to have interpreter services in the event may have to consider and treat the interpreter more humane. And for the interpreter, let's do our best to open the access for the Deaf (and Hearing) community despite all the conditions we encountered.

Shall we?




References
Samuelsson-Brown, G. 2006. "Translation: Profession" (p. 89 -- 92) inside Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics 2nd Edition. Elsevier.

Turner. 2006. "Sign Language: Interpreting" (p. 318 -- 320) inside Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics 2nd Edition. Elsevier.