Provost Celebrates New Deaf Interpreters
Posted on: 02 March 2022
On Thursday 24 February, Provost Linda Doyle congratulated a cohort of twenty three deaf people who have completed a short course on interpreting at Trinity College Dublin, a celebration made all the sweeter as this is the first time that the group has met in person. Co-funded by the Citizens Information Board and the Sign Language Interpreting Service, the course – originally planned to be delivered in blended mode, pivoted when Covid hit hard. As a result, across the academic year 2020-21, the cohort quickly adapted to working via Zoom, navigating broadband challenges along with the challenge of paying close attention to a steady stream of signing in a 2-D environment.
With input from Centre for Deaf Studies academics, local interpreters and Deaf community organisations, from colleagues at Humboldt University Berlin, Heriot Watt University (Edinburgh), Wolverhampton University, Gallaudet University (Washington DC), the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, the Anne Sullivan Foundation, the Council of Irish Sign Language Interpreters, the Irish Deaf Society, Chime, Reach, the European Sign Language Interpreters Forum, the World Association of Sign Language Interpreters, and the European DeafBlind Union, this cohort has had access to a dream team of contributors.
Coordinator of the programme, Teresa Lynch, says: “This is the first time that there has been any formal training pathway targeting Deaf Interpreters in Ireland, and one of very few in the world at large. We are absolutely delighted to have had the opportunity to work with and support this remarkable cohort. As a Deaf Interpreter myself, I am delighted to welcome additional colleagues to engage in this work. This cohort, through their work, will open more doors for Deaf community members.”
Following from the Irish Sign Language Act 2017, the Register of Irish Sign Language Interpreters (RISLI) was established. All public bodies are required to ensure that Irish Sign Language interpreters provided are members of RISLI. Those who have successfully completed the 20 credit short course at the Centre for Deaf Studies are eligible for registration, and will significantly increase the pool of Deaf Interpreters in the country. They join a pool of approximately 120 other interpreters who serve the nation and significantly increase the number of Deaf Interpreters available.
Prior to this course, there were just five Deaf Interpreters registered to practice. They work with hearing sign language interpreters to ensure that interactions are as culturally and linguistically appropriate as they can be. Having grown up within the Irish Deaf community (or indeed in a Deaf community in another country), Deaf Interpreters are often heritage language users, and bring their lived experience to bear on their interpreting work. Deaf Interpreters often work with deaf people from other countries who do not have Irish Sign Language as a working language. In such situations, they may work with an Irish Sign Language/English interpreter who presents a message to them in ISL, and they then render it in another sign language, or in what is referred to as “International Sign”, a lingua franca built around the embodied visual-gestural commonalities of sign languages.
Deaf interpreters also work with deaf children, many of whom may have experienced language delay as a result of late exposure to an accessible language. They are also frequently called on to work with DeafBlind people who may have reduced field of vision and require an individual interpreter in a group setting or who may prefer ‘hand over hand’ signing, where the DeafBlind person gently places their hands over those of the deaf interpreter and haptically receives the message conveyed.
Ronan Lowry, Chair, Sign Language Interpreting Service applauded those who have completed the course, overcoming 12 tremendously challenging months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He also thanked the Centre for Deaf Studies staff for their commitment to delivering the course remotely, saying “Today we celebrate the these new Deaf interpreters and new opportunities for their work. Comhghairdeas!”
Dr John Bosco Conama, Director, Centre for Deaf Studies adds, “This ceremony marks a significant milestone in the history of this Centre, and the interpreting situation would change for the better. Having trained people like that is one way of acknowledging and recognising the diversity of interpreting needs in Irish life. I wish to take this opportunity to congratulate them on this occasion, and sure they will be agents of great tidings to come!”