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Country Reports by Karl Llorca

There will, of course, be full Country Reports published by WASLI in the near future, but just to give you a taste of what's going on around the interpreting world, Karl writes some of his impressions here:

Germany

Germany has many good things to offer WASLI; chocolate, beer and cars, however she never brought any of those with her today! There are approximately 80,000,000 people in Germany with 80-100,000 sign language users. Sign Language is recognised by German Parliament but this does not necessitate equal access in all arenas. Germany currently has roughly 600 interpreters working either full or part time and not all of those are officially recognised or certified. There are 4 training programmes that each take 3-4 years to complete.

Argentina 

There is no interpreter association in Argentina at present, and traditionally deaf children are taught in schools via the oppressive oralist method. Changes to this have only recently happened with sign language being used in some schools. Those interpreters who are working in Argentina, in the majority used to be teachers of the deaf who read a book on sign language and started to interpret, therefore there is a lot of tension between deaf people and those interpreters. He called for deaf people to lobby the Argentinean government to have sign language recognised and to have a proper training programme.

Australia

The main challenge for us in Australia is reaching those interpreters who are not members as we have approximately a population of 20 million people covering a land mass that is akin to that of Africa. This means that the majority of registered interpreters are based in and around the 5 main cities in Australia. One achievement that we a really proud of is to have our first qualified Deaf Interpreter, who became qualified and then left us for Cambodia!

Austria

The Austrian Association as 70 members and it is a young association being just 10 years old next year. The interpreters who work in Austria have to go through re certification every 3 years to prove their competency. To become a member of the association the interpret must pass our examination. Being a member of WASLI is something that we have aspired to.

Romania

There are 21 million people in Romania and there are 30,000 deaf people who use sign language, which equates to 0.168% of the population. Historically deaf people have been taught in the oralist method, but now they are seeing a shift towards bi-lingualism, but this is a slow shift. There is an Association of Sign Language Interpreters, but there is only one programme of study that is recognised, however there is no formal accreditation for interpreters therefore they are not seen as professional people, and most don’t work full time as interpreters as there is no money in this work.

Cambodia

Before I begin with this I must say how fascinating the access to language was for this presenter. Vishet is deaf and presented in Cambodian Sign Language to her deaf interpreter Justin Smith who translated this into British Sign Language so that Jemina Napier could voice this over. The voice over was then translated into international sign by Philemon Akach, which was then translated into spoken Spanish. The way in which the interpreting team just dealt with this complex situation was amazing, and just proves how flexible and skilled we are.

This is Vishet first time to Spain, and in fact her first time to Europe. In 1996 the first deaf school using sign language was established. In 2002 there was 1 working interpreter in Cambodia, now there are 6, however they only work in 3 out of 24 provinces, so this necessitates them travelling great distances. If WASLI are not able to help us with our association we are not sure how things will go, it may even mean that services will cease.

Dr Debra Russell, Canada

“What do others think about our work? Perspectives on educational interpreting from Deaf students, teachers, administrators and parents.”

This work was based on the work of Betsy Winston “Educational Interpreting; How can it succeed”  2004. The main idea behind this is to look at the impact on academic and social success of deaf students in education with reference to the interpreter.

This study used a variety of methodologies ranging from case studies to videotaped interviews. The main themes that came through from the students focused on the lack of qualified interpreters, identifying that those interpreters missed/dropped more information than their qualified colleagues. The teachers questioned the effectiveness of the interpreter and also who they were supervised by. The administrators wondered why they had to pay for two interpreters for some sessions and found that the qualified interpreters were very demanding in their needs. Parents however, ranged from feeling glad to just have someone with their child, to not knowing what they did with their child all day in the classroom.

Dr Russell presented a very interesting perspective on this research and if you want more information her email is debra.russell@ualberta.ca

Betsy Winston, USA

“Teaching the Teachers: Improving Practice”

We have a good range of expertise in the teachers of the teachers at the moment, but we need to prepare for when we get grey and old! The mind is a vessel not to be filled, but a fire to be kindled. However this must be done with an emphasis on active learning and critical analytical thinking.

Betsy focused on the way in which teachers of teachers must be trained and highlighted the main points of the Masters in Interpreting Pedagogy – which can be offered to anyone who wishes to distance learn.

There are a variety of subjects that have been incorporated onto the curriculum so that we can ensure the appropriate skill base is passed onto those who will become our trainers in the future and to ensure that we don’t loose our valuable resource.

Some more interviews

Regina “Reggie” Sapko, Hawaii, USA

Coming to WASLI has been a great experience for me, being able to meet so many people from different countries and seeing so many sign languages has been amazing. Seeing other countries that are smaller than my home country that have developed their way of doing things has made me realise there is much to learn from them. The guided tour of Segovia with my interpreter colleagues was something that will stick with me as a lasting memory of the conference. Also being here has made me realise I could do well to ensure I contact those smaller Pacific Islands so that we can unite and learn from each other.

Enric Lluch Rue, Spain

I am CODA and have been a professional interpreter for the past year after completing my Masters Degree in Linguistics. In the future I want to go into research and do my PhD, perhaps focusing on Catalonian Sign Language and how this differs from Spanish Sign Language. I’ve really enjoyed meeting people here at conference, and I hope to remain in contact with those I have met.

Gary Sandreson, Los Angeles, USA

This is my first WASLI meeting and I have to say it has been an eye-opening experience, I am usually a very out spoken person, but I have found myself taking a back seat and just soaking up the atmosphere. I have found the paper presented by Dr Russell very interesting so far, and the comment that she made about the illusion of inclusion really struck a cord with me, as in the USA I work in a University and that one comment really validates the work that I do around interpreters and education settings. In 2011 I will aim to be at the next conference, as being here has made realise that in the States we sometimes think that we are the leading light for our profession, but there is much to learn from WASLI and its members.

Isabel Rey (Interpreter), Maria Padilla (Teacher of the Deaf), Lima, Peru

Isabel has been working as an interpreter for 10 years and Maria has been teaching for 13 years. In Peru interpreters don’t have an accredited programme of study, so the profession is not recognized. This means that interpreters learn their skills in the language from the local deaf communities. Coming to WASLI has been an eye-opening experience for both of them and they are thankful for the Sponsorship Programme as that has paid for them both to attend. Isabel and Maria both hope that they will be able to attend the conference in 2011 if they are fortunate enough to be sponsored again.

Nigel Howard, Deaf Interpreter, Canada

This is my fist experience of a WASLI Conference and I have to say so far it has been a fantastic one, one that I nearly missed out on as I tried to register but was told it was full! However, as Chris Stone (who is coordinating the IS team) asked me to be part of the IS team I was able to come. Meeting people from all over the world has been such a valuable experience and it has highlighted for me the need for more interpreter training programmes across the world. Being here has shown me that there is a vast wealth of experience that we can draw upon to provide the highest level of training for both Deaf and hearing interpreters and it is vital that we tap into that. It has also shown how we can work together to benefit both the interpreting and deaf communities for the future, and the only way things will really improve is to alter the attitudes of those that stand in our way. One thing that has really hit home me is the situation in the third world and their interpreters; they are like a sponge soaking up the information here to take back to their countries to hopefully change things for the better there.

Interpreters at Work

David Wolfenden

Gill Wood

Ana Peidro

Karl Llorca

Susan Emerson

Felipe Mendez

Toñi Romero

and

Nicole Montagna