Tag Archives: Deaf Professionals

It Takes Two to Tango: Crafting a Flawless Partnership in the Corporate World — From Deaf Eyes on Interpreting

Posted on August 21, 2018 by Tom & Anna

DEOnIbookpage This is the fifteenth weekly installment featuring highlights from the 20 chapters in the new book, Deaf Eyes on Interpreting, edited by Thomas K. Holcomb and David H. Smith which was released in June by Gallaudet University Press.

Sam Sepah holds a prominent position at Google as a Global Program Manager. He discusses the partnership between the increasing numbers of Deaf professionals, administrators and managers and their Designated Interpreters. Sepah draws a distinction between freelance interpreters who may randomly be assigned by an agency and “designated interpreters” who routinely work with the same Deaf clients 20-40 hours a week.

The title of this chapter, “It Takes Two to Tango,” reflects the author’s conviction that in order to create an effective partnership in the corporate culture, both the Deaf professional and the interpreter need to share their expectations, agree on communication strategies, provide each other with feedback, do their research and practice their moves, so they can work together as seamlessly as two dance partners.

Whose Reputation is at Stake? — From Deaf Eyes on Interpreting

Posted on June 3, 2018 by Tom & Anna

DEOnIbookpage This is the seventh weekly installment featuring highlights from the 20 chapters in the new book, Deaf Eyes on Interpreting, edited by Thomas K. Holcomb and David H. Smith, which is scheduled to be released in June by Gallaudet University Press. This chapter, “Whose Reputation is at Stake?” was co-written by Tara Holcomb and Aracelia Aguilar.

As Tara Holcomb describes in the video clip, this chapter stems from experiences that the two women had while attending a large professional training with participants from all over the country. Holcomb and Aguilar experienced frustration while trying to participate fully in this conference when they realized that they and the local interpreters hired to work with them had very different ideas about what constituted appropriate behavior. They explain the steps they took to take back the control of the situation so that they could present themselves as capable Deaf professionals that they are.

The Heart of Interpreting from Deaf Perspectives — From Deaf Eyes on Interpreting

Posted on May 20, 2018 by Tom & Anna

DEOnIbookpage This is the fifth weekly installment featuring highlights from the 20 chapters in the new book, Deaf Eyes on Interpreting, edited by Thomas K. Holcomb and David H. Smith which is scheduled to be released in June by Gallaudet University Press. This chapter, “The Heart of Interpreting from Deaf Perspectives” was written by Kim Kurz and Joseph Hill.

In the video above, Kim Kurz describes the motivation for conducting research with Deaf Professionals to discover their expectations and concerns regarding interpreters. Using qualitative and quantitative methods, they interviewed 10 Deaf professionals to identify what they would consider as “the heart of interpreting.” After analyzing their data, they found some common themes and concerns. These include:

1) A lack of bilingual skills (English and ASL) among interpreters 2) A less than effective use of fingerspelling to support the Deaf professionals 3) Skill in employing the elements of depiction in ASL, such as the use of space, classifiers, constructed action, and role shifting were found to be sorely lacking among many interpreters. These areas of concern, the authors feel, may be due to changes in the formation of interpreters from traditional cultural immersion to more emphasis on academic settings.