Category: Opinion

Msg from Tara Potterveld / Deaf Legal Rights: Need your help, NOW!

Deaf Legal Rights: Need your help, NOW! Comment before Feb. 12. California is proposing a new rule of court that does not include Deaf people. Currently, California provides certified interpreters to Deaf people in court. But often the court orders people to complete classes and programs provided by private agencies outside of the court. If a […]

A Conversation with Deaf Youth

At the Idaho Association of the Deaf Conference that Cliff and I attended a few weeks ago I had a chance to talk with Deaf youth about interpreters and interpreting services. Part of our conversation was focused on them identifying characteristics of both ideal and problematic interpreters. I thought their insight was valuable, interesting, and worth […]

A Conversation with Deaf Consumers

Cliff and I just attended the Idaho Association of the Deaf conference in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. The conference focus this year was on interpreting. I presented to several different stakeholder groups about interpreting. In my interactions with Deaf people over the years, I have heard the same story about how they did not know they […]

More on Extralinguistic Knowledge

by Naomi Sheneman I was thrilled to see how my recent blog post generated so much discussion.  Let’s dig a bit deeper into the concept of extralinguistic knowledge.  Some of the discussions included the idea that we need to broaden our horizons.  While that is a good idea, it is not always possible as we have no control […]

Extralinguistic Knowledge: Why Is It So Important in Interpreting?

Feel free to comment or chat with Naomi by using the reply section below. by Naomi Sheneman In the interpreting profession, we often talk about how important it is to take jobs tied to topic manners that we are familiar with. For example, someone who hates or knows nothing about cooking may not be best […]

Interpreters are “Expensive”

Over the years I have witnessed people refer to American Sign Language Interpreters as “expensive.” I would like to suggest that this label is, at most, unjustified, or at least, not helpful. It is of course quite rare for a Deaf individual to pay for interpreting services out of their own pocket. The cost of […]