The IATIS Comp@ss :: New Publications

Type of Publication: Journal issue
Author/Editor: Lorraine LEESON, Graham TURNER (Eds)
Year of publication: 2007
Keywords:
Place of Publication & Publisher: Manchester: St Jerome
Publisher URL: http://www.stjerome.co.uk
ISBN/ISSN:
Price and ordering information:

Publication blurb: Literal vs. Liberal: What Is a Faithful Interpretation?, pp. 179-220

Bill Moody (Free-lance Interpreter, USA)

Fidelity to the source message, in both interpreting and translating, for both spoken language and sign language (SL) interpreters, has been at the core of our conception of the role of the translator/interpreter. This article presents a selection of research and writings on the theme of the “faithful” interpretation in an effort to bring this research to the attention of the practising interpreter. It includes brief sections on the history of conference interpreting and community interpreting, the professionalization of interpreting, models of the interpreter’s role, consumer expectations of interpreting services, expectations of working interpreters, the unique situation of SL interpreters in regard to transliteration and to educational interpreting, and the measurements applied to fidelity in interpreting. The author concludes that a faithful interpretation is ideally one that is co-constructed between the speaker and the interpreter.

The Loving Hand: Spanish Poetry in Spanish Sign Language (LSE), pp. 221-250

Ángel Herrero and Rubén Nogueira (University of Alicante, Spain)

Ancient grammars took on the hermeneutic task of explaining sample texts from the poetic register in the academic register, whether this was poetry written in their own language or in another, resulting in the establishment of poetry as a ‘language of culture’. The ‘poetic function’ (Jakobson 1960) evolved from this approach to analysis of poetic texts in translation. In addition to the effect on phonological, morphological and syntactic relationships, it also affects the pragmatics of poetic texts, which must be interpreted in order to ensure transfer of poetic significance cross-linguistically. When undertaking the translation of some of the most significant Spanish poetry to LSE, the aim was to transpose these texts while remaining faithful to the following three concepts: (1) the original meaning in Spanish, (2) LSE grammar, and (3) the spontaneous poetic sentiment of the native signers. The results show that poetic meaning becomes more transparent in translation in a signed language and that LSE boasts a poetic dimension that is linguistic in nature.

Of Pride and Prejudice: The Divide between Subtitling and Sign Language Interpreting on Television, pp. 251-274

Josélia Neves (Instituto Politécnico de Leiria, Portugal)

It is no longer questionable whether d/Deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers should be offered accessibility services on television. This matter has been widely discussed at a European level and most countries have taken legislative action, while television broadcasters have implemented different solutions – mainly closed captioning/teletext subtitling and sign language interpreting – to make their programmes accessible to people with hearing impairment. It is common to find d/Deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers complaining about what they are offered on television. It is also common to hear that television providers are doing their best to make their services available to all. There is still another group of voices turning down or singing the praise of one or the other solution, for a number of reasons which range from technical and aesthetic issues to political and social motivation. This paper examines the advantages and drawbacks of using subtitling and/or sign language interpreting on television while trying to establish why both are much loved or much hated accessibility solutions.

Mind the Gap! A Skills Analysis of Sign Language Interpreters, pp. 275-299

Karen Bontempo and Jemina Napier (Macquarie University, Australia)

This article presents the findings of a survey of sign language interpreters’ perceptions of the skills, knowledge and abilities required for effective practice. Specifically, practitioners were asked to rate the degree of importance of some of the identified key skills, knowledge and abilities for professional practice based on the literature, and then rate their own degree of competence as a practitioner on the same parameters. Furthermore, interpreters supplied an overall rating of competence, based on their perception of their own performance as a practitioner. A skills gap analysis was conducted to determine the significant differences between ratings of importance and ratings of competence on each of the skills, knowledge and abilities documented. This yielded information with regard to the most critical skills, knowledge and abilities perceived by sign language interpreters, and clearly identified gaps in competence among practitioners. Interpreter accreditation level emerged as a significant dimension in the context of self-reported level of competence and skill for sign language interpreters. Such findings have important implications for the education and training of sign language interpreters, and repercussions for ongoing professional development and self-monitoring by practitioners.