1. An Investigation of ASL to English Interpreting When Varied Signs Occur in the Source Message
By Jennifer Smith
Discussion/Conclusion
Introduction
Data Collection, Methodology, and Analysis
The results showed 18 out of 18 varied signs from six videos being interpreted correctly. This data demonstrates that varied signs might not have an effect on accuracy of the interpretation. There may be several reasons
for the interpreter’s high accuracy rate. They may have had previous experience with that particular sign. They may have had the ability to identify the meaning from surrounding context and/or to identify the word via presenter’s lip movement.
They may have had discussions with presenters beforehand. Experience with varied signs, such as through interpretation work in Video Relay Service (VRS) Centers may increase their familiarity with a broad range of varied signs through exposure in that setting.
For future research, it is recommended
to increase the number of video samples in order to study more interpreters in more settings. Also, interview with interpreters is recommended to determine which signs were truly novel for them and what their strategies are for success with varied signs.
The data was obtained through two different sources- Gallaudet University’s TedX series and a Tedxlslay series of Deaf presenters and presentations relating to the Deaf Community. Six videos were used for this research, all of the videos’ presenters were Deaf and translation was based on captioning. Methodology of the findings were based on the researcher’s judgment on what is considered as a varied sign. Throughout the video, the researcher kept an eye on signs that deemed un-natural or a sign that wasn’t seen before then that would be recorded and brought up for discussion.
American Sign Language (ASL) may be a language that is not spoken, but just like those spoken languages that have accents, ASL has its own version of an accent also widely known as varied signs. Those are often problems that interpreters of the Deaf encounter due to the fact that they must be able to understand the message before they can interpret it. When a person uses a varied sign, sometimes it is a sign that the interpreter is not familiar with and it leads to confusion and potentially, miscommunication. The research question is how much would some varied signs impact on interpreter’s ability to interpret information accurately
Video 1- Reaching Out to the Global Deaf Community
Video 4- Deaf Lens
ASL Sign
English Translation
Correct/Incorrect
BASKETBALL
Basketball
Correct
EAR DETERIORATE
Hearing loss
TAPE
Computer
STRONG
Powerful
ASL Sign
English Translation
Correct/Incorrect
PUKE
Threw up
Correct
VIDEO
Camera
WOW
Wow
COP
Police
GUNS ON HEAD
Cowboy
Video 2- The Parallels Between Spiritual Perspective and Deaf Perspective
Video 5- Be a Community Organizer With a Cause
ASL Sign
English Translation
Correct/Incorrect
BUS
Bus
Correct
BASKETBALL
Basketball
SPLIT
Separate
WORK
Work
Literature Review
ASL Sign
English Translation
Correct/Incorrect
SKIP
Early
Correct
“Discoveries from International Research” by Woodward, Erting, and Oliver (1976) is one of the earliest studies on the concept of “accent” in ASL. This survey of 45 individuals found differences in vocabulary based on geographical regions.
Video 3- ASL in Writing
Video 6- Building an ASL Community
ASL Sign
English Translation
Correct/Incorrect
BIRTH
Born
Correct
PAINT
Artist
ROCK
Mountain
References
Bayley, R., Lucas, C. and Rose, M. (2000), Variation in American Sign Language: The case of DEAF. Journal of Sociolinguistics, 4: 81–107
ASL Sign
English Translation
Correct/Incorrect
RULE/CONTROL
Govern
Correct
Contreras’s publication titled, “Regional, Cultural, and Sociolinguistic Variation of ASL in the United States” (2002) discussed different variances of sign language such as regional, ethic, and generation.
TEDxIslay - Alim Chandani - Reaching Out to the Global Deaf Community. (n.d.). Retrieved April 13, 2015, from
Contreras, R. (2011, November 15). Regional, Cultural, and Sociolinguistic Variation of ASL in the United States. Retrieved April 13, 2015, from layout/sociolinguisticvariationofasl.htm
In his publication titled, “Linguistics of American Sign Language: An Introduction” (1989) Valli points out the changes in generational signs. Historically, many signs required the use of two hands. Today, we appear to be shifting our signing to one hand instead of using two hands. Some examples are: RUN, MAYBE and FAMILY.
TEDxIslay - Josh Swiller - The Parallels Between Spiritual Perspective and Deaf Perspective. (n.d.). Retrieved April 13, 2015, from
Robert Arnold Augustus at TEDxIslay. (n.d.). Retrieved April 13, 2015, from
Valli, C., & Lucas, C. (1989). Linguistics of American sign language: An introduction (1st ed.). Washington, D.C.: Gallaudet University Press.
Be a Community Organizer with a Cause | Beth Benedict | TEDxGallaudet. (n.d.). Retrieved April 13, 2015, from
Woodward, J., Erting, C., & Oliver, S. (1976). Facing and hand (l) ing variation in American Sign Language phonology. Sign Language Studies, 10(1),
Bayley (2000) presented a large study of variation in ASL to analyze the sign and form for DEAF. The analysis states that with 207 signers across 7 regions in the US, more than 1,600 ways of signing DEAF were found
TEDxIslay - Marvin Miller - Building an ASL Community. (n.d.). Retrieved April 13, 2015, from
TEDxIslay - Wayne Betts Jr - Deaf Lens. (n.d.). Retrieved April 13, 2015, from