2011 January Ripple

In This Issue

In Memory of Leona...

Deaf Access Office
Blast from the Past!
Interpreter Travels
Thank you from byDania

Preferred Interpreters

In Memory

Leona Parr-Hamel
April 18, 1964 - December 12, 2010

Many WAVLI members will have already heard this news via text message, FaceBook, phone call, or in person.

It is with a sense of great professional and personal loss that I let WAVLI members know that, after a brief, valiant fight with cancer, Leona Parr-Hamel has passed away.

Leona was a pillar in the Vancouver Interpreting and Deaf communities.

My last professional discussion with Leona showed her depth of caring for this profession; a direct quote "For WAVLI, I would be willing to do just about anything". And that is what we have seen Leona do time and again. She is already missed!!

The many comments from her family and friends have been tied to Leona's laugh, her infectious sense of fun, and her supportiveness to all those she met.

The Celebration of Life service for Leona will be held as follows:
Massey Theatre
735 8th Ave, New Westminster, BC.
Saturday, January 8th at 1pm.
Interpreters (and DB Interpreters ) will be provided.

If you have questions, please contact: interpreter@shaw.ca

Wishing you all peace in your hearts as we come to terms with loss at a time of celebration.

~Jessica Siegers, WAVLI President

Deaf Access Office

Imagine a world in where sign language interpreters are the norm, not the exception. Agencies, hospitals, police officers and schools do not put off or haggle about bringing in interpreters or making everything accessible. Sounds like a dream, doesn’t it? No worries- the Deaf Access Office fairies are here to make it a reality!

We are working towards this goal as a community but in the meantime we are focused and dedicated to educating and advocating to the general public, service providers and other organizations for the Deaf, Hard of Hearing and Deaf-Blind community.

Paige Thombs, Melissa Campbell and Kristen Pranzl (who will be off on maternity leave for the next year) have been working hard towards making this vision a reality. Over the last year, Paige, Melissa and Kristen have started and finished several large projects and collaborated on other projects with other service providers and agencies.

Some of the more notable results DAO has had this year is finally getting the Insurance Corporation of BC to recognize their responsibility to pay for sign language interpreters and to make it policy. DAO will be working on developing a “cheat sheet” that we can send to various ICBC offices around BC to use as a quick reference when they need to book sign language or oral interpreters for meetings or appointments.

DAO is also permanently on the training curriculum for the police recruit training at the Justice Institute of BC. To date, we have presented to approximately 7 classes of recruits and will continue to present as the curriculum rotates. We were also invited to train the whole New Westminster Police Department which counted for a total of seven workshops. This led to a partnership between a retired police officer who is now advocating in his community to get E-Comm to accept text 911 calls. Also, DAO hopes to do training for the Vancouver Police Department.

Some of you may be aware about the court services training project that DAO tacked starting about two years ago. We have since presented to most of the court services offices in B.C. and we will be building on this as we will be presenting at the Judges and Justices of Peace conference in November of 2010. This is exciting for us because we are starting to reach out and educate more and more individuals in various roles and this is beginning to lead to more opportunities and networking which will result in more people being aware of services, resources and their obligations to make the community accessible for the Deaf, Hard of Hearing, Deaf-Blind and interpreting communities.

We encourage any community member or ally to contact us if they have an idea of a project that we can collaborate on, as well as if they experience any accessibility issue and want our support. Again, I would like to emphasize that the Deaf Access Office is focused on accessibility issues and projects but we are also able to address individual requests if needed.

Contact us!
Kristen Pranzl (return date in 2011) kristen.pranzl@gov.bc.ca
Paige Thombs: paige.thombs@gov.bc.ca
Melissa Campbell: melissa.campbell@gov.bc.ca

Blast from the Past!

from the February 1996 issue of The Ripple

Am I the Only One?

by Jan Humphrey

Professions are marked by several identifiable features:

*a theoretical base and required education or training;

*professional licensing or certification process; and

*"professional demeanour" which refers to conducting oneself in a professional manner

It is the latter descriptor which I am addressing in this article. I realize I have been in the field a long time and perhaps my definition of "professional demeanour" reflects my age and the battle scars earned as our professiona has emerged, but I believe a part of professional demeanour involves our choices regarding attire. Specifically, I believe interpreters should dress in a manner befitting professional status. This is an even more serious concern given the fact that most people we interact with in the larger community often assume we are volunteers, family members, or do-gooders. They are largely unaware of the training required to acquire a second language and to develop interpreting skills necessary to deliver equivalent messages between English and ASL, or our professional associations and certification system. Thus, the majority community still does not associate Sign Language interpreters with "professional" occupations.

I believe it is incumbent on each of us as practitioners to reflect professionalism in the selection of our attire. Last summer I walked past a class of adult students being taught by a woman in her 50's. She was dressed in a skirt and blouse or dress -- I have never seen this woman in slacks. She was standing, presenting a combination lecture and class discussion around the topic at hand. I was astonished to see one interpreter dressed in , shorts and a tank top and the other looking like she was about to wash the windows at her house, dressed in a T-shirt and ragged jeans.

Yes, I know some lawyers (and other professionals) who wear blue jeans and runners but they don't dress that way in the courtroom or when representing their already established and respected profession to the larger community.

Unless we are interpreting for a picnic or in certain settings, blue jeans should not be part of our work ensemble -- including those interpreters who work in educational settings. Likewise, there are limited settings where runners are appropriate. Of course, practitioners can over-dress to the discomfort and embarrassment of others, as well. I am not saying you should dress in formal attire to interpret for that Deaf individual getting one week of training in the paper mill or meat packing plant.

I implore my colleagues to think twice about the image they engender for all of us when you show up at a job:

*in a hotel where speakers are dressed in suits and ties/dresses with heals - and you have on stretch pants, a t-shirt, and "dress" runners;

*in a lawyer's office to interpret a meeting - and you show up with mustard stains on your shirt from eating a hot dog in your car or mud on your shoes from leaving for your appointment;

*in a preschool, interpreting between a Deaf teacher or preschool child as they play on the floor, do fingerpaint, and make paper mache - and you show up in hose, heels, and a skirt that restricts freedom of movement (or suit, tie, vest and pants that likewise restrict movment or activities at hand).

Our choice in clothing reflects whether or not we take ourselves and our responsibilities seriously. It reflects on the amount of peparation and thought I have given before doing a job. Selections in clothing reflect whether I have made an investment in acquiring some of the basic "equipment" for professional practice -- an ensemble of clothing appropriate for various settings, which communicates professionalism to others I encounter. And yes, it reflects my understanding of my responsibility to helping the larger community develop respect for my professional field and my fellow practitioners.

Interpreter Travels

It was my first trip to South East Asia. My husband, Joe was invited to be the keynote speaker at the South East Asian Catholic Pastoral Workers for the Deaf Conference in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. I went along as the interpreter. Most of the participants were deaf representing 12 different countries. It was amazing to see the different sign languages and it was truly a team effort to make sure everyone understood the workshops. At one point we had the presentation given in ASL, voiced to English, then orally interpreted in Korean to a Deaf participant who then interpreted into Korean Sign Language! We also had a hearing Sister who is fluent in Chinese sign language and did all the interpreting for the Hong Kong/Macau group. It was really a wonderful experience and we all enjoyed learning each other’s signs. It was a revelation that even in the basic Catholic Mass itself, we all use different signs. I learned many beautiful new signs.


After Malaysia we headed to Bangalore, India where Joe had worked over thirty years ago. At that time as a young man Joe lived for one year in Bangalore where he introduced sign language at the school for the deaf, all the programs had been oral up to that point. Joe also set up a deaf leadership program along with Fr. Harry Stocks. To Joe's amazement many of the deaf students, now all grown up showed up to meet "White Joe" as he is affectionately known there. One of the most touching moments was when a man brought his own deaf son who is now ten, the same age that the man was when he met Joe. The man introduced his son to Joe saying "this man saved me, he taught me sign language and showed me that you can be a proud deaf person". It was overwhelming. That man now has a successful career. Two of Joe's other students are now teachers of the deaf. Many other deaf people came out to meet Joe; they had never met him but had heard “The Legend of White Joe" and his work in India long ago. Joe was given a list of questions from the Bangalore deaf community; they are hoping he will return to work with them! One person said "We do not care that you are white, or that you are old, we need you". It was very touching.


After Bangalore we headed to Singapore where Joe spoke at the Singapore Association of the Deaf on the recent ICED conference, as well as his Doctoral Thesis "Sign Language Interpreter Shortage in California: Perceptions of Stakeholders". In each community we visited we were overwhelmed with the kindness of the deaf communities. We also realized how very fortunate we are in the Western world. The three weeks we were in Asia flew by. It truly is a small world.

Submitted by Eleanor McLaughlin

Thank You

byDania Designs sends out a big THANK YOU to all of the support we have received over the years since the inception of this two woman jewelry-making team. We are getting busier and busier with our new ventures.

Our accomplishments include being the exhibitors of the month at Hycroft Mansion and being nominated one of the top 30 jewelry designers in Vancouver. Most recently we have been invited to participate in the Vancouver Wedding Show and Vancouver Fashion Week.

Our trip to Nepal in May also boosted us into a whole new level with handmade silver jewelry with high-quality semi-precious stones. We have designed some amazing new Toggle Charms, Earrings and Rings. There will be more designs to come!

We look forward to more exciting times and want to express our gratitutde for all your support. Check out www.bydania.com for upcoming events and join us on Facebook under byDania Designs Ltd and Twitter under bydaniadesigns.

Thanks again,
Dani & Tania

byDania Designs
Hand-Made Jewelry
www.bydania.com
designs@bydania.com
Dani 604-857-3264
Tania 604-762-6264

2010 July Ripple

In This Issue
Editor's Note

Presidential Musings
Welcome to the Community

Nova Scotia's AEIP

Blast from the Past!

Reflections on AVLIC 2010

photo by Ava Hawkins

Congratulations to Barb Mykle-Hotzon!

Recipient of the 2010 AVLIC R.W. Letourneau Service Award

Editor's Note
By Suzie Giroux

As we find ourselves sandwiched in the middle of summer, this issue of the Ripple bids a fond farewell to my co-editor Wanda Sinclair. Living in our nation's capital, it has been, to say the least, a challenge for Wanda as she spread herself evenly and thinly between a commitment to the Ripple, a commitment to SLINC, and most importantly, a commitment to her growing family with the newest addition of a beautiful baby boy.

Wanda, a personal thank you for working with me on the Ripple. You have a creative genius in your mind and peaceful resolve in your heart.

A special welcome to the new WAVLI Board, to Karen Malcolm's new found freedom in her retirement from teaching at Douglas College, to Sara MacFayden's new position at Douglas College, to our Jane Pannell in her new position as AVLIC's Administrative Manager, and to the 2010 graduating class of Douglas College. A special welcome to Spring Herold as well who joins the Ripple committee in helping fill the void that has been created with Wanda's resignation.

Presidential Musings
By Jessica Siegers

First of all, thank you for your confidence in my ability to be WAVLI’s president. This is a role I take most seriously. My gratitude to the members of WAVLI’s Board who support me in my role, and who do all behind the scenes work, as well as the leading and guiding that inspires interpreters across our province and even our nation.

I was elected in a momentous year. 2010, while being mathematically intriguing, is important for many reasons. As Susi Bolender reported at the beginning of this year, BC in 2010 is BUSY.

BC hosted the Winter Olympic Games, and WAVLI members were amongst the volunteers who helped put on a magnificent show to the world! There have been, and continue to be, many other provincial, national, and international events in BC that are keeping our members on their toes, with their fingers flying.

WAVLI members have also had frequent opportunities to immerse themselves in professional development. Our Pro-D co-chairs have done a laudable job of organizing and running workshops, both hands-on and lecture style. The pilot run of the WAVLI Professional Development Series was a success, having such presenters as Anthony Natale and Terry Janzen. If you have missed the first half of this year’s professional development, DO NOT WORRY, there is more to come!

The AVLIC 2010 conference “Small Steps, BIG Difference” saw WAVLI well represented in our nation’s capital. Amidst soaring temperatures and humidity at percentages that would garner any student an “A”, AVLIC members digested, discussed, disagreed, and deliberated. The Code of Ethics, respect, professionalism, and mentoring all held the stage as we were reminded of our roots as interpreters, our source of language learning, and what it means to be “part of”. I came away from Ottawa thankful that I live in BC – the ocean breeze, the professionalism of our community and the opportunities for growth offered by our provincial chapter all combined to emphasize how fortunate I am to have grown up on the West Coast, both literally and professionally.

photo by Sharon Darling

As we reflect on what we have learned in our practice and from our colleagues so far this year, we must also keep in mind that which is yet to come. A WAVLI Special Meeting on October 16, the WAVLI Gala on November 6, workshops, perhaps an announcement or two (still waiting on tenterhooks for the pronouncement of Title Protection), and isn’t Christmas coming up soon???

Welcome to the Community
A warm WAVLI welcome to the graduates of the Class of 2010!

Jenn Wilson, Sarah Zelitt, Karly Sandboe, Megan Merritt, Alison Corrigan, Carissa Putra, Brittany Robertson, Kevin Layne, Bryan Corry, Tammy Pyper, Apryl Morrison, Donna Rose, Wendy Luchtmeijer, Melissa Stewart, Laura Bamsay, Kari O'Brien

We look forward to working with you!

Nova Scotia Community College's ASL/English Interpretation Program
By Denise Smith

I was asked to share a description of our ASL/English Interpretation Program (AEIP) with Ripple readers and am happy to do so, below.

The Nova Scotia Community College has 13 campuses in the province, three in the Halifax Regional Municipality. Of those three metro campuses, our AEIP is at one, the new Dartmouth Waterfront campus.

GROWTH
Coincidentally, at the same time AEIP moved onto the new campus in fall 2007, we expanded. For the first time since we began in 1993, we started offering a one-year ASL and Deaf Studies Program (DSP), as a prerequisite for AEIP. AEIP also changed from a biennial intake to an annual intake. It took several years to research and look at other AEIPs before this could happen. In the end, we decided on a model and subsequent curriculum that would most resemble the current Vancouver Community College and Douglas College combination of one year plus two years. (We’ve learned a lot from Vancouver!) In our case though, both programs, plus part-time ASL courses, are offered at the same institution. This has the advantage of sharing resources among all three interests.

FACULTY
The expansion also changed our staffing needs. As a result, we went from one full-time faculty member and several part-time, to 4 full-time teachers and 3 or 4 part-time. All faculty may teach in both programs, depending on the needs and corresponding skill sets. Our faculty team is: Jim McDermott, Lead Faculty for Deaf Studies; Noni Warner, DSP and AEIP Faculty; Jana Delaney-Wilson, DSP and AEIP Faculty; and me, AEIP Coordinator. On June 15th, the first group to do both DSP and AEIP at NSCC will graduate. A big day indeed – them and us!

COMMUNITY
Compared to Vancouver, Halifax’s Deaf population is small, and this can present challenges. Deaf Studies students have a lot of assignments that involve either collaborating or learning directly from spending time with members of our Deaf community. The AEIP students rely on the Deaf community too – for classroom visits, practice interpreting and ASL tutoring. Of course during placements, students rely on Deaf consumers to allow for practical interpreting in real-life situations. Amazingly, Deaf people continue to pitch in and show their support in all these ways. The same is the case with interpreters. Our local AVLIC chapter, Maritime Association of Professional Sign Language Interpreters (MAPSLI), has about 35 Active members. We ask a lot of them, while at the same time, trying to respect their workload. Like other programs, we depend heavily on interpreters to take on these informal mentoring roles.

NUMBERS
This June we will graduate ten, from a starting enrolment of twelve. For this coming fall, enrollment for 1st year is 10 and for 2nd year, 8. Every graduate who wants to work has always found at least part-time opportunities - if not in Nova Scotia, then in New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta or British Columbia. Some of our alumni are also working in the US. Many of our graduates find work in the school system or in post-secondary settings. More recently, we’ve seen rookie graduates explore opportunities for Video Relay Service training, in various provinces.

CURRICULUM
As mentioned, the AEIP curriculum changed in 2007 and as we work through it these first few times, we’re look for opportunities to keep on improving. Generally speaking though, the 2-year path involves more information and less craft in the beginning, and progresses to less information and more craft by the end. Students have 3 applied interpreting courses in second year, the first one involving mock assignments on campus and the last one being a five-week placement in spring, with a 3-week placement in winter.

This past year, British Columbia helped us out again: to fill-in for a maternity leave, we were lucky enough to hire your own Susi Bolender last fall, and Jen Ferris from Vancouver Island, for this past winter and spring terms. True to the maxim about change being educational, having these two skilled interpreters “in the house” was very rewarding. You can’t put a price on the value of outside eyes that provide fresh perspectives, and our curriculum and lesson plans are richer for it.

AVLIC
All AEIP students are required to be AVLIC members and on top of their studies, first-year students take on various fundraising activities so they can attend the upcoming AVLIC conference. For this year’s Small Steps, Big Difference conference in Ottawa, we’ll have both first-year and 2nd year students (recent grads) together at the AVLIC conference for the first time. Students can also receive credit for volunteering on MAPSLI committees. In all these ways plus more, the program promotes and reinforces the importance of professional affiliation and collegiality.

INVITE
The students and teachers love having visitors – especially hard of hearing, Deaf folks and interpreters! So, please let us know if you’re planning to be in the Halifax area during the school year -- we’d love to see you!

Blast From the Past!
Study Group Success
By Jane Pannell, June 2000 issue of the Ripple

As a new professional in the field, it seems as though I can use all the support I can get. I'm lucky to work in an environment that provides me with a tremendous amount of the moral support, but an invaluable source of hands on and theoretical support is my study group.

Five of us, upon graduation from the Douglas College's Department of Sign Language Interpretation, decided that we would form a monthly study group - for practice, feedback, ideas about ethical dilemmas, and discussions about different working environments. We were thrilled when two other interpreters with a few more years experience agreed to join in.

I think a great part of our success has been the fact that we all bring a slightly different perspective to the group - we have K-12 interpreters, post secondary interpreters, freelance interpreters, and medical interpreters. Although not everyone is able to make it to each monthly session, we have managed to practice the skills we learn in WAVLI workshops, show one another signs that are new to us, discuss (and hopefully resolve) ethical dilemmas, as well as support each other outside of the sessions.

With summer upon us, we'll be calling it quits for 2 months, but I'm sure each of us is looking forward to the fall; to see what the others have to say, discuss and contribute to our group learning. To those of you who are new to the field, and even to those of you who have been doing this for a while, I suggest you give a study group a try. I don't think you'll be sorry you did!

South Africa, Airbenders, and AVLIC
By Simon Dorer

There is never a shortage of participants at the AVLIC conference, despite so many other activities to partake in during the summer months from new blockbuster movies coming out, to the FIFA World Cup, to summer camps and vacations. This year was no exception, as the Marriott, Ottawa became a Mecca for interpreters and Deaf attendees. In fact, close to 300 people from across the country joined in on the workshops, discussions, entertainment, and bidding wars. Oh yes, the bidding wars, but I’ll get to that later!

photo by Ava Hawkins

2010 Canadian AEIP Instructors

This was my first conference and definitely not the last. To me, the conference ran smoothly without any glitches. With any large-scale event, there are always glitches, and The AVLIC 2010 committee did an amazing job making sure the event was successful and any problems were under the radar. I personally have taken notes and made observations in preparation for our own event, the WAVLI 20th Anniversary GALA, November 6th, 2010.

I attended as many of the workshops as I could and each one offered a unique perspective to our field from strengthening our interpreting skills in specific settings to advocacy to ally relationships. At the end of each one, I felt liberated yet full of questions to ponder over. Everywhere I looked there were small groups discussing further the topic of the workshops they attended; it was exciting and a thrill to see such bonding.

Then, the big day of the AGM arrived. A day many thought would never end. By 10:00 a.m. we were half way through the agenda, but had only covered 5% of the content. Still left were the motions that were discussed at the special topics sessions the previous day, old and new business, and elections. As it turned out, more and more discussions were needed on these motions. Long story short, votes were cast, motions passed/failed, and the meeting wrapped up with a short yet humorous 2014 conference bid proposal from Winnipeg, and then the meeting adjourned…ahead of schedule!

Finally, time to relax at the banquet. Perhaps “relax” is too subtle of a word to use. Try “apprehensive” or “confrontational” and definitely “entertaining”. I admit the meal was delicious, great awards went to great people, but it all came down to the pants. Yes, pants: Sylvie Lemay's long lost and forgotten pants that made their way from Vancouver to the live auction and sold for $800! I felt sorry for the auctioneer who’s $5 increments and running to and fro between bidders was left drenched in sweat and on the floor breathless; picture something on the lines of a John Cleese performance. And with that we wait two years for the Calgary cast to host AVLIC 2012.

2010 February Ripple

In This Issue:
Editors' Note

New Membership Cards!
Message from the President
Contributions Big and Small: AVLIC 2010
WAVLI Gala

Blast from the Past

---

Editors’ Note

by Wanda Sinclair & Suzie Giroux

Here we are in another new year. I personally find it difficult to feel motivated to create resolutions at this time of year; the dead of winter in Ontario. It is easier to envision personal change and formulate grand plans when spring is in the air with blossoming flowers and sunshine (like you folk have out there in balmy BC!).

Having said all that, inspiration does come easier when considering upcoming professional development opportunities that are available such as the AVLIC Conference that will be taking place in lovely Ottawa, Ontario July 6-10, 2010. The theme is “Small Steps Big Difference”. The overall goal of the conference is to explore the cumulative effect individual and collective contributions have had on shaping our profession of interpreting.

We have some great PD opportunities coming to the West as well! Watch for Anthony Natale, a possible WAVLI professional development series, and of course, opportunities for the AVLIC Workshop series! We've had a mild winter in Vancouver but mild wouldn't be the word to use for an action packed PD spring before we head into summer and the AVLIC conference!

Let's hope this is a year filled with joy, growth and peace not just in our own backyard but around the globe as well. See you all out here this summer!

---

New Membership Cards!

Watch for Your New Membership Card! Online membership renewal is now available at http://www.avlic.ca/. You must renew your membership and pay membership fees by midnight on March 31, 2010 to remain in good standing.

---

President’s Report
by Susi Bolender

Hello Members! 2010 is going to be a BUSY year. It is an Olympic year for Vancouver as well as other events being hosted in BC this summer. And we also have the AVLIC Conference in Ottawa coming up! At our last board meeting we polled how many people were going and almost all of our board members will be attending AVLIC 2010. I think BC might have the largest representation again! Here's hoping!

I want to formally announce that I will not be continuing in my position as president for another term. I will be running for AVLIC Member-at-Large position and look forward to continuing to serve our profession at the National level. Elections are coming up so I hope there will be many new board members joining positions and committees.

There are so many exciting things on the horizon for WAVLI. Continued Professional Development opportunities which have been wonderful, Title Protection becoming official; the application has been submitted at this writing and we are waiting to hear if it's been approved (here's hoping!), and the Gala planned for November where we can celebrate how WAVLI has grown over the years.

Thanks to all the members who have been so supportive and involved with WAVLI over the years. I’m looking forward to being part of an organization that will continue to grow over the years to come!

---

Contributions Big and Small: AVLIC 2010
Cindy Nevins for the AVLIC 2010 Committee

Fifty years ago, William Stokoe and his fellow researchers published the research monograph 'Sign Language Structure' showing that ASL is a verifiable and distinct language.

This milestone and additional research that followed proved an invaluable contribution to the field of interpreting, and helped in creating particular standards in interpreter education and in the practice of interpreting.

Contributions big and small from the Deaf Community, from researchers, and from within the interpreting profession help us to work towards common, and inevitably evolving, goals.

In less than six months we again have the opportunity to come together, for AVLIC 2010 in Ottawa. Small Steps Big Difference recognizes that all contributions, no matter how seemingly minor, collectively serves to better the interpreting profession as a whole, and to each of us individually.

AVLIC is fortunate to have two excellent Keynote Presenters to share their knowledge and experience: Sally Palusci of Toronto, and Kirk Ferguson-Uhrich of Edmonton. Sally Palusci's 'An Exploration and An Invitation to View the World Through Deaf People’s Eyes' will look at interpreters and their historic and current position within the Deaf Community.

Kirk Ferguson-Uhrich's topic 'Going Somewhere from Here... a journey, a plan and a compass ... oh yeah, and a GPS' addresses the brief history of the sign language interpreting field in Canada, as well as current developments that continue to unfold.

Visit the AVLIC 2010 Website for details on the keynote presentations, on the venue, and for registration information: http://www.avlic2010.ca/

Want to get involved in AVLIC 2010? Interpreters and interpreting students are encouraged to apply to interpret at the conference; donations of goods and services for the auction are needed, and the tradeshow is accepting registrations.

The AVLIC 2010 Committee looks forward to welcoming everyone to Ottawa, July 6 to 10, 2010.

---

WAVLI 2010 GALA

20 years! This is a milestone that deserves recognition. As such, the GALA 2010 Committee is vigorously planning, coordinating, and organizing the WAVLI 2010 GALA. The date has been set for November 6th, 2010, and everyone should have received the announcement over the listserv.

Currently, we are still looking for a suitable venue. Some have fallen through, others are already booked for our date, and even more are out of our budget. We have received great response from some members and are committed to incorporating everyone’s feedback.

This will be a formal event consisting of a reception, dinner, and entertainment. We have done a lot of brainstorming and have decided that a hotel banquet room will best suit our GALA needs.

We are also in the process of attaining auction items; help is very much needed and appreciated. Any connections you may have through work, friends, or family to solicit gifts will be a great benefit. Contact anyone on the committee to acquire a “Request for Donation” letter, if required. Do not forget to come to our meetings and get involved.

We are confident that this will be a successful event and set the bar for the next celebration in five years to come!

Your Gala 2010 Committee
Simon, Tess, Carli, Sara Mac, Farah, Lisz and Leona

---

Blast From the Past
WAVLI Ripple – May 1994

Greg Evans’ ASL to English Workshop
by Robert Weaver

Mother always told me to make the best of a rainy day. Well, since moving to Vancouver, I’ve had a lot of practice. Saturday, February 26, 1994 was on of those “make the best of it days”. Twenty three interpreters made their way to Douglas College which hosted an ASL to English workshop conducted by Greg (“Germ Boy”) Evans.

Q. Do you feel more confident interpreting from ASL to English than from English to ASL?
A moment to ponder…

A. Nine of 23 three participants raise their hands, feeling better from English to ASL. A few members of the group feel ASL to English is their strong suit, and a few have no comment.

FACT: Linguistically speaking, it is not possible for an interpreter to be stronger interpreting into their second language than from their second into their first.

During the fledgling stages of the interpreting profession, consumers were happy to have ANYBODY who could sign at their appointment. Our Deaf consumers have the ability to extract meaning from whatever the interpreter throws out. Today, this is not so; we are moving into a “consumer-based service”. Today’s interpreters need to do a lot more than just “do the job”. This requires committed interpreters to continually hone their skills to meet their consumers’ needs.

There is any number of skills an interpreter may choose to hone: register, appropriate word choice in the first or second language, message equivalence when interpreting ASL to English. Register is the sum of the people involved in the assignment, the setting in which it unfolds and the content of the assignment. So when we focus on register, we look at the whole interpretation.
Sometimes when we interpret, we are more concerned with the word choices we make as opposed to the intent of the message. When we are improving this skill, do the words we say convey the meaning of the speaker or does it sound like the Webster’s dictionary making no sense? This is a good skill to work on with a teamer or someone in the audience who can give direct feedback to us after the assignment. It’s easy to get caught in the “gloss trap”: using the same English word for a sign every time. For example the sign “inform”, in English could be interpreter as “I will let you know”, “I will keep you abreast of the situation”, “I’ll keep you updated”. Unfortunately, so many times we get caught and say, “I will inform you” or “I’m here to inform you”. An exercise to free ourselves from this is to look at some frequently used signs such as inform, touch finish and excited, and write down or discuss with a partner variations of what we say in English. There are just a few tips for some skills you may want to work on.

The hands on portion of Greg’s workshop dealt with ASL to English interpreting. The workshop began with the group breaking into small groups of four and brainstorming about what makes good ASL to English interpretation. The groups came up with a few interesting findings:

Smoothness
Confidence
Natural Sounding Language
Interpreters “Not There”
Correct Volume
Finished Concept

This is not a comprehensive list of the discussion, but some general points that came up from the small group discussions. Ironically enough, the items on our lists were similar to those of… guess what?... the CES English domain and message equivalency rating.

The workshop introduced a tool known as “back translation”. The small groups of four went off into separate rooms with a TV and videotape of ASL short stories; all groups had the same tapes with the same deaf consumer telling the stories. The deaf consumer was used throughout the day, so we did not have to become accustomed to a variety of signing styles. Once the group was ready to interpret, one volunteer from each group took his/her place in front of the TV and…and…and…trembled as the play button was pressed. The figure came on screen and the interpretation began. The other three members of the group listened to the English production, but did not watch the video. The three not viewing the video made comments on the volunteer’s interpretation. When the interpretation was finished and all comments were made, a second member of the group took the hot seat. This time, another member of the group interpreted into ASL what the new volunteer was voicing – hence the “back translation”. All the members of the group went through this process. There were three stories in all and each original story was taken from a written text. The written text could be used as a frame of reference for the English; however, the participants at the workshop did not have the written format.

Summary of Back Translation:
1. Chose a volunteer to interpret a video into English

2. Have the other members listen to the interpretation and prepare feedback. They do not view the video while listening to the interpretation.

3. Discuss the interpretation. Provide positive as well as corrective feedback. We often judge ourselves by our mistakes, and have a hard time listening to and accepting positive feedback.

4. Select another interpreter to interpret ASL to English and have another person interpret that English into ASL. (A video camera is a real asset here as you can compare the ASL with the original video tape).

5. Discuss the English interpretation again and if time permits, compare the interpreter’s ASL version with the original written text.

The workshop was filled with a lot of humour and the day went by very quickly. This cheerful environment made the sharing and discussion very open and, therefore, the workshop was a great success. It is nice to see Canadian talent providing professional development for interpreters (a little flag waving here).