Editors' Note
Message from the President
Contributions Big and Small: AVLIC 2010
WAVLI Gala
Editors’ Note
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!
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
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
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).
