Etiquettes on Sign Language Interpretation

We all know most of the people with hearing impairment use sign language or lip reading to communicate. The need for interpreters is huge esp in countries like India where there are only few interpreters compared to millions of hearing impaired population. A sign language interpreter is responsible for helping deaf or hearing-impaired individuals understand what is being said. An interpreter must understand the subject matter so he or she can accurately translate what is being spoken into sign language.

The role of interpreter is very important in any Town Hall Meetings or Conference or any other official/social gathering where we have deaf/hearing impaired audience.

Interpretation Etiquettes

At times it becomes difficult for a interpreter to start doing interpretation without even knowing the basic agenda or context of the program. Always provide the Interpreter as much information as possible in advance. This helps the interpreter to be prepared and to avoid any miscommunication during interpretation. Incase of techinal conference, please provide the agenda in advance so that Interpreter gets to know about the topic to get prepared. Incase of abbreviations, Technical jargons, please inform the interpreter in advance.

The interpreter may ask for specific seating/positioning to facilitate the best viewing angles for himself/herself and for the audience. Based on my experience, I always suggest them to sit in first few rows so that interpretation is clear and visible.

If possible, ask the speaker to speak in normal tone at moderate pace. At times, it becomes important for a interpreter to ask speaker to pause, slow down or repeat the information. This helps the audience to understand the context clearly.

Even if there is any video without any Closed Captions, interpretation is always suggested even in that time.

Lets avoid using proverbs, phrases, similies and metaphors in our speeches where our audience are deaf or hearing impaired. To interpret the proverbs and similies is not only a difficult job but also takes time to make them understand the implied meaning associated with it. By then, the speaker would have moved to next topic and interpreter would find it difficult to finish that interpretation.

Interpreter should not convey his/her opinions during interpretation, rather the interpreter has to be a neutral party.

Interpreters are not allowed to omit or edit information. Convey whatever is being spoken, whether its a joke or story or any message.

Always try to get the acknowledgement from the deaf audience during interpretation. This would also ensure that the audience are completly in sync with your interpretation

What if there are words for which you dont know the signs? As sign language keeps evolving, at times it becomes difficult for a interpreter to use the appropriate signs. In these cases, please spell the word in sign language or rather rephrase in sign if you know the meaning.

Please get updated with all latest signs available, best way is to meet different Hearing Impaireds in respective domains and get the signs from them. Never ever make your own signs based on your comfort level. Since its their native language, so we must respect their language.

At times, an interpreter needs to wait for the speaker to finish his/her message because order of interpretation in the same way might not look logical, the way the person speaks.

If interpretation happens in a closed room, wave your hand to get their attention or ask facilitator to switch on/off the lights to draw their attention

Please ensure you stand while doing interpretation. This ensures your body and hands are flexible enough to do interpretation

If you feel that the subject requires lots of complex signs which you are not aware, kindly inform the POC in advance. We should not miscommunicate something which we ourselves don't understand. Seek out for experts in that domain and refer them if required.

During trainings wherein interpretation is required, please make sure to sensitize the facilitator/trainer well in advance about Hearing Impairment and interpretation. Reason being, while doing interpretation, the session gets extended at times as I have already mentioned in my previous post that deaf people understand the context easily with more examples, activities and role plays.

Etiquettes to follow during Interviews, Personal Discussions / Meetings

It is always a good idea to educate oneself about what exactly an interpreter does and how they facilitate communication.

Try to use the interpreter to engage deaf individuals in conversation.

Always address the deaf person directly, instead of asking Interpreter to ask about him/her. The interpreter will interpret exactly what you say, so dont talk to him/her in third person.

Ask the deaf person on some specific sign if you really want to learn some important signs.

Please ensure the communication is clear, this ensures the interpreter to have clear communication with deaf individual.

Ask the interpreter to rephrase if the candidate is not able to understand any specific point or example.

Dont avoid deaf person in the conversation. Rather ask him/her to explain if you don't understand any points. Always look at them and avoid any phone conversation or looking away from them

Try to hire a professional and competent interpreter who has few years of experience coupled with knowledge on deaf culture to facilitate effective communication.

Please dont walk in between the interpreter and the deaf person.

During meetings, please ensure one person speaks at a time. This ensures the deaf person to follow lip movement easily one at a time. Also if there is a interpreter, it becomes difficult to interpret what everyone says at same time.

Please let the deaf person/employee know about the agenda or meeting in advance with some basic pointers so that it becomes easy for him/her to come prepared.

Always ask the deaf person, his/her opinion and encourage them to participate in the discussion. They should also feel that their voices are heard in the meeting.