Real-world shock has historically been defined as a form of transition shock experienced during the transition from the academic to the professional world. It is marked by distinct phases and causes both emotional and physical stress. Previous research has found that real-world shock is experienced by new members of a variety of fields, especially training-intensive service professions such as education and medicine. However, even though the profession of American Sign Language/English interpreting is also a training-intensive service profession, there is no research that indicates whether or not new members of the profession experience similar shock to their counterparts in other professions. As such, this thesis shall attempt to dtermine if realworld shock is experienced by new interpreters of American Sign Language. To do so, a survey was electronically distributed to American Sign Language/English interpreters throughout the United States of America. The resulting data collected was analyzed to determine if new interpreters experience real-world shock and, if so, what the root cause of it is. It was found that interpreters of American Sign Language and English do experience real-world shock upon entering the profession. Furthermore, the shock is a result of the profession rather than from intercultural interactions with the d/Deaf community.
Citation:
Meadows, Stephanie A., “Real-world Shock: Transition Shock and its Effect on New Interpreters of American Sign Language and English” (2013). Master’s Theses. Paper 8
The goal of this project was to develop a proposal for interpreter education at the University of Iowa based on research into the needs of various stakeholders in the state of Iowa. Surveys were distributed to potential students of such a program, as well as to Deaf and hearing consumers of interpreting services, entities that employ interpreters, and interpreters currently working in Iowa. Data collected from these surveys provided insight into the current state of the interpreting field in Iowa; insight that was used to support the proposal for an Interpreter Education Program at the University of Iowa.
Additional research into a variety of issues raised by this survey data is recommended. While the research conducted for this study was specific to the state of Iowa, the data collected could inform additional studies, specifically in the areas of consumer understanding of interpreting practice and interpreter education and certification.
The purpose of this study was to start a collection of folklore of the American Sign Language interpreting community and to initiate a conversation about the role these stories play within the community. The initial hypothesis was that there are folklore stories which circulate among the members of the interpreter occupational folk group. Since there had been no other study of this kind done in the ASL interpreting community, a single story was chosen as a starting point for research on the topic. The chosen tale for the focus of this research was about the students/new interpreter told by the seasoned interpreter. The working hypothesis was that these stories reinforced a specific structure within the field and represent unease toward perceived changes to the field. No research into the folklore of the American Signed Language interpreting community had been done at the time of this research, therefore the majority of literature reviewed was on the topic of folklore studies to provide a foundation for inquiry. Faceto-face interviews, conducted with three experienced interpreters, were used to collect the stories and gather the impressions. The data revealed that seasoned interpreters do indeed circulate stories about the students/new interpreters living and working in the Pacific Northwest. The informants’ perceptions of how the stories function differed, however all agreed the stories exist and influence the field. Further research on the American Signed Language interpreting community’s folklore, as well as further expansion on the specific stories investigated for this research, is recommended.
The aim of this study was to collect information from spoken/signed language interpreters about their own personalities and what personality traits they appreciate and do not appreciate in other professionals. By asking respondents about their feelings toward working with others, this research will take a pulse of the current morale in the field. Initially, the hypothesis was that the morale of the profession is negatively affected by the interpersonal communication conflicts interpreters experience as a result of different personality styles not meshing well. Data was collected through a questionnaire in which 127 responses were obtained from all over the United States, as well as a few respondents from two other countries. Research revealed that interpreters dislike common traits in peers, but because there is no standard approach to deal with tension between colleagues as it is a sensitive subject, the morale of the field is at a tipping point. Since
there is very little research about interpersonal relationships between team members in the signed/spoken language interpreting and spoken language interpreting professions, literature was reviewed that focused on personality characteristics that make for good interpreters, interpersonal communication, and tension. The data collected from the questionnaire, as well as the literature reviewed, suggest that while there is a diverse range of personalities and preferences within the signed/spoken language interpreting field, and some of the diversity is appreciated, some is detrimental to work and esteem. Also, the results of this study suggest that interpreters may not be self-aware in regard to how we come across to others.
Citation:
Hewlett, Sarah L., “Do We Play Well with Others? Personalities and Interpersonal Interactions Among Signed Language Interpreters” (2013). Master’s Theses. Paper 7.
Vague Language (VL) seems to be a universal feature of language, and American Sign Language (ASL) has been shown to have all the properties of language; therefore, it is natural that VL would appear in ASL. This thesis is the first study of VL in ASL, and provides evidence that VL occurs in ASL and is used to express meanings equivalent to those of VL in English. The findings of this study document yet another property that ASL shares with other languages, and contribute yet another language to the body of languages that have been studied for VL. The investigator of this study analyzed the National Center for Sign Language and Gesture Resources (NCSLGR) Corpus for vagueness and found that the corpus contained vagueness in signs, gestures, and non-manual markers (NMMs). Hedging, approximation, and lack of specificity were the predominant types of vagueness found in the NCSLGR Corpus. The findings of this study, in addition to the literature reviewed, have implications for ASL teachers, ASL-English interpreters, and interpreter trainers. Previous literature has shown a need for explicit metalinguistic instruction about VL to second language (L2) learners, interpreters and translators. The ability to be vague has been shown in previous research to be a form of pragmalinguistic competence. This study contributes to the knowledge of the forms and functions of VL in English and ASL so that ASL students may improve their pragmalinguistic competence in ASL, and ASL-English interpreters may improve the pragmalinguistic equivalence of their interpretations.
Citation:
Greene, Daniel J., “Keeping it Vague: A Study of Vague Language in an American Sign Language Corpus and Implications for Interpreting between American Sign Language and English” (2013). Master’s Theses. Paper 2.
The aim of this study is to research whether signed language interpreters in Ohio experience intergenerational communication conflict. The initial hypothesis was that interpreters do experience such conflict. The first phase of research was a survey of interpreters in the state of Ohio to determine whether preliminary evidence existed to suggest that new interpreters and more experienced interpreters do experience communication conflict. Such evidence was found. The second phase of research was a process of interviews with two new interpreters and two more experienced interpreters. The data revealed that while there is evidence to support that there is conflict between new and more experienced interpreters, the evidence is perhaps indicative of a larger problem in the field: horizontal violence. Both the survey data and the interview data support the idea that horizontal violence may take place in the interpreting field. Literature from the fields of education and nursing were consulted, since no research has been done about horizontal violence in the field of signed language interpreting. Information from the literature, as well as survey and interview data suggest that while
new interpreters and more experienced interpreters do seem to experience conflict, such conflict is indicative of the larger problem of horizontal violence. Further research about horizontal violence in the field of signed language interpreting is recommended.
Citation:
Ott, Emily K., “Do We Eat Our Young and One Another? Horizontal Violence Among Signed Language Interpreters” (2012). Master’s of Arts in Interpreting Studies (MAIS) Theses. 1.
The process of burnout was explored within the interpreting population using social support and decision latitude as possible influential factors. A sample of 117 interpreters attending the 2009 biennial Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf national conference participated in the study. Demographic factors, occupational strain variables and levels of burnout were measured. A regression method of statistical analysis was used and decision latitude was found to be the strongest variable, which contributed modestly to emotional exhaustion, a component of burnout. Overall, this sample reported average levels of the three components of burnout, which include emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment. Given these findings, it is suggested that the interpreter’s resources (controls or decision latitude) play a role in the work of sign language interpreters. Keywords: sign language interpreters, burnout, emotional exhaustion, occupational risks, decision latitude.
Citation: Schwenke, Tomina CI and CT (2012) “Sign Language Interpreters and Burnout,” Journal of Interpretation: Vol. 20: Iss. 1, Article 7. Available at: http://digitalcommons.unf.edu/joi/vol20/iss1/7
Although the notion of music being a part of a deaf individual’s life may seem contradictory, there is evidence that music is and has been a part of many deaf people’s lives. Music is and has been a part of the Deaf culture, including, but not limited to, Deaf musicians, utilizing pianos to teach speech, and sign language interpreters at events including music. The intent of this thesis is to explore the relation between Deaf culture and music, historically and presently, as well as how sign language interpreters function within live vocal music performances.
For the purpose of this thesis, the focus will be on that of Western European Art Music. According to A History of Western Music, art music is, “Music that is (or is meant to be) listened with rapt attention, for its own sake” (Burkholder, Grout, and Palisca A2). In this tesis, vocal works with text will be the primary focus. Furthermore, this thesis will focus on live performances of music with sign language interpretations, rather than interpretation of recorded music. However, some music mentioned, such as that of the Deaf rock band Beethoven’s Nightmare, does not necessarily fit into the category of Western European Art Music. Additionally, the focus will be that of Deaf history and culture within the United States, though notable events from outside of the United States will also be included.
Citation: Summers, Amanda, “Deaf Culture and Music: The Role of Sign Language Interpreters within Live Music Performances” (2012). Senior Theses. Paper 4. Linfield College
My name is Courtney Walker and I’m a sophomore, president, and founder of the American Sign Language club. I made this video to show the world about American Sign Language and how amazing it is. It is its own culture and language that needs to be showed to everyone and the world that the Deaf are people to and we should adapt to incorporate them into society as well as the blind. I wanted to firstly thank my high school American Sign Language Robin Mengual for getting me into sign language,it’s such a blessing. Secondly I want to thank my parents for pushing me to follow my dreams and continue my passion for signing. Finally, I’d like to thank Dana Neugent for asking me to make this video and showing that our club is something to talk and show people about.
Students training to become sign language interpreters are often faced with the challenge of negotiating boundaries with the deaf and hearing consumers with whom they interact. Many interpreter-training programs have traditionally taught students that it is most appropriate to maintain “neutrality” in our interactions and in our interpretations. (Metzger, 1999). The objective of this study is to add to limited amount of research that examines footings in interpreted interaction. Metzger (1999) performed one of the only studies of participation framework and footings in American Sign Language-English interpreted encounters. This study is a replication of her initial work and aims to apply her research framework to a different set of data and examine how her findings about footings apply to a different setting and different participants. Replication of a study is significant because it adds to a general body of literature in the field and provides a basis of comparison and contrast with previous related studies. The findings of this case study support findings of previous case studies (Metzger, 1999; Roy, 2000) and lend support to the notion that sign language interpreters are active participants in interpreted interactive discourse and play a significant role in coordinating and managing the interaction. The similarity of the findings of this replication study and the original study means that the implications for sign language interpreters are possibly generalizable and that they may apply to other interpreters and participants in different types of interactions and settings.
Marks, Annie R. (2012) “Participation Framework and Footing Shifts in an Interpreted Academic Meeting,” Journal of Interpretation: Vol. 22 : Iss. 1 , Article 4.
Available at: http://digitalcommons.unf.edu/joi/vol22/iss1/4
