ASLinfo.com - Information on American Sign Language (ASL), Interpreting and Deaf Culture

Information and resources related to American Sign
Language (ASL), Interpreting and Deaf Culture

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Vocabulary (Page 4)

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Terms Related to Intepreting

Machine Philosophy: a set of beliefs regarding d/Deaf individuals, ASL and communication dynamics which influence the way a person views her/his role as an interpreter; includes a belief of d/Deaf people as handicapped and needing to learn to take care for themselves. Word-for-sign equivalence between signs and spoken English; and the interpreter as having no responsibility for the interaction or communication dynamics taking place (alternate term: conduit philosophy).

Oral transliterator: one who listens to a spoken English message, then rephrases that message into clearly speech readable forms for a deaf consumer who uses speech and speechreading as primary forms of communication.

Passive Voice: a type of sentence construction in which the person who performs the action indicated by the verb (the actor) is not identified.

Professionals: practitioners who are distinguished by three essential features: a) a special monopoly through licensing or certifying process; b) has defined 9liited) scope of practice and a related body of knowledge; and c) adherence to a clearly articulated set of values in a code of ethics.

Register: identifiable variations within all language, which mark the formality or informality of an interaction. All languages have at least five registers including frozen, formal, consultative, informal, and intimate. Each register has specific characteristics and unwritten rules determining a) turn taking and interaction between the speaker and the listener, b) complexity/completeness of sentence structure, and c) choice of vocabulary.

Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI): a condition resulting from frequently using particular set of muscles and tendons in the performance of one's work. RSI tends to result in carpal-tunnel syndrome, tendonitis, tennis elbow, and brachial neuralgia (also known as overuse syndrome).

Sign to Voice Interpreting: the act of changing the signed source language message into a spoken language interpretation.

Simultaneous transliteration: the process of transliterating into the target code at the same time the source language message is being delivered.

Source Language: the language in which an original message is conveyed, upon which interpretation is based.

Target Language: the language into which a message is interpreted. An interpreter takes the message expressed in the source language and, after working through a complex mental process, produces an equivalent in the target language.

Visual-Gestural Languages: languages, which are based on a structured set of linguistic rules in which the communication base is the movement of the face and body, rather than sound. Sign languages throughout the world fall into this category.

Voice-to-Sign Interpreting: the act of changing the spoken source language message into a sign language interpretation.

Cloze Skills: the ability to mentally fill-in-the-blanks when part of an utterance is obscured or when the receiver does not understand a term or phrase. (Also termed "closure')

Work Settings: the places where interpretation takes place and the number of clients being served; includes one-on-one, small and large groups in such places as education, legal, medical, mental health, and social service settings. The number of clients present and the type of interaction taking place are significant because the use of language, the purpose of speakers, the types of appropriate turn-taking, appropriate volume, etc. change depending on the setting in which interprets work.