Role of the Deaf Interpreter

A Deaf interpreter (DI) uses American Sign Language (ASL), gesture, and/or other communication strategies to facilitate communication between a Deaf consumer, a hearing consumer and a hearing interpreter. A Deaf interpreter is a Deaf individual who has native or near-native fluency in American Sign Language, who has interpreting experience and who has taken specialized training.

A Deaf interpreter will function as a member of the interpreting team. This may be needed if a Deaf person uses signs that are: particular to a region or age group, has minimal or limited communication skills, has had their communication hindered or altered because of sickness or injury, or uses non-standard ASL or gestures. A Deaf interpreter may be called upon when it is determined that a Deaf person is likely to be able to present concepts in a more comprehensible way because of shared culture and life experience. In some cases this is not always possible for hearing ASL-English interpreters.

The AVLIC Code of Ethics and Guidelines for Professional Conduct will guide the Deaf interpreter. The role of the Deaf interpreter is not to provide counselling or advocacy. The Deaf interpreter will ensure that the interpretation provided will be accurate and faithful to the intent of the participants in the conversation.

Interpreting Process – A Team Model

In the interpreting process, interpreters receive the message in one language, process it, taking linguistic and cultural information into account, and then produce the interpreted message into the other language. A time lag will be experienced as the message is passed between the parties involved.

An OIS registered Deaf interpreter will work with an OIS registered hearing interpreter in a team model. The hearing interpreter will interpret from spoken English to ASL. The Deaf interpreter will then interpret from ASL to an appropriate level of ASL and/or will incorporate different communication strategies to convey the message to the Deaf consumer. The Deaf interpreter will interpret the Deaf consumer's remarks into ASL. The hearing interpreter will then interpret from ASL into spoken English. The Deaf and hearing interpreters may consult with each other in order to arrive at the best interpretation.

Consumers will be encouraged to address each other directly and not to address the interpreters. Hearing consumers should maintain eye contact with the Deaf consumer, not the interpreters.

The interpreters will advise the participants on how best to work with the team. This may include: allowing more time for the interpreting process, requiring the speaker to moderate the pace of their speech, appropriate seating arrangements, etc.

A Deaf/hearing interpreter team often can communicate more effectively than a hearing interpreter alone, or than a team of two hearing interpreters, or than a Deaf interpreter working alone.

When there are two hearing interpreters, two Deaf interpreters are required.