Workshops

Just what they said: Interpreting intentionally vague language

In 2013 Daniel published his master’s thesis, “Keeping it vague: a study of vague language in an American sign language corpus and implications for interpreting between American Sign Language and English.” In this workshop, participants will explore the use of vague language (VL) in both English and ASL, the communicative purposes of VL, and specific strategies for conveying vague messages in both ASL and English. As a result of continuing studies, this workshop is constantly evolving, discovering increasingly unique and intriguing perspectives on sociolinguistic interpreting models and ethics.

Demand Control Schema for Case Supervision

Case supervision, a.k.a. case conferencing or staffing, is a structured, professional discussion among colleagues with the purpose of improving service to consumers. Robyn Dean and Robert Pollard’s demand control schema (DC-S) is a powerful tool for professionals to analyze ethical problems and devise creative solutions. Daniel was trained by Robyn Dean to be a DC-S trainer in 2005. In graduate school, he was trained in DC-S case supervision by Amanda Smith, an interpreter educator at the forefront of implementing DC-S in a bachelor’s-level interpreter education program. He lead colleagues through supervision of cases once a month from 2013 to 2018 in the Professional Supervision of Interpreting Practice (PSIP) program online through Western Oregon University (WOU). He continues to receive training in case supervision from Amanda Smith and Robyn Dean in the Interpreting Institute for Reflection-in-Action & Supervision (IIRAS), and continues to lead case supervision every month in this program. In this workshop, participants will receive intensive training in DC-S and case supervision practice.

Knowing what they’re going to say before they say it: Using genre recognition to improve prediction skills

Ever miss a joke while interpreting or realize that a story was a cautionary tale only after the fact? We interpreters can become so focused on the words that we miss the point. An interpreter who grasps the speaker’s goal and the “type” of story that is being told or the “kind” of conversation that is taking place has a better shot at delivering a cohesive message. This workshop introduces attendees to genre theory and teaches the skill of genre recognition. Attendees will be guided in the recognition of generic elements of discourse and will be empowered to enhance their predictive skills, thus increasing their self-confidence and composure while improving the accuracy and effectiveness of their interpretations.

Fostering independence: Getting out of the way when our clients don’t need us

The NAD-RID Code of Professional Conduct (CPC), Tenet 4, Respect for Consumers, admonishes interpreters to “Facilitate communication access and equality, and support the full interaction and independence of consumers.” Supporting consumer interaction and independence demands that we get out of the way when consumers don’t need us to interpret for them. Various models of interpretation have viewed the interpreter-client relationship in different ways, but do not focus much on the client-client relationship. This workshop will review some well known and lesser-known models of the interpreter-client relationship, examine the “Rescue Triangle” (Karpman, 1968), and introduce a model of interpretation that focuses on the client-client relationship. Participants will have ample time to reflect upon their own professional practice and see how they may be sometimes standing in the way of their clients’ relationships with each other; participants will be guided to identify ways in which they can get out of the way of client-client relationships and foster independence. This workshop was first held on July 4, 2012.

Read my lips: Making English visible through oral transliteration

This workshop provides an overview of oral transliteration: what it is, who uses it, and how to do it right. Come and learn: Why some deaf people want to read your lips; How you can be pro-Deaf culture and still respect and serve oral deaf people; How you can transfer what you’ve learned in ASL interpreting to oral transliteration. Have you ever been sent to a job where the person didn’t know sign language but wanted to read your lips, and you didn’t know what to do? Here’s a good place to start. Unlearn some of the “good habits” in sign interpretation that are “bad habits” in oral transliteration. Increase the number of consumers you can serve. People of all knowledge levels are welcome.

Voice Interpreting— Trippingly on the tongue

This is a sign–to–voice interpreting workshop with a twist. In addition to learning logistical and processing strategies for ASL-English interpreting, participants will learn vocal techniques singers and actors use to enliven their vocal expression, convey affect, and improve audibility. Participants will learn how to enunciate, maintain vocal health, and match tone to meaning. A thesaurus of English words and phrases will be explored for tricky-to-translate ASL signs and expressions. Participants who take this workshop will gain the skills they need to become more dynamic interpreters and speakers.

Transliteration: Put the English on your mouth and hands

This workshop provides an overview of transliteration and teaches the skills of spoken English–to–Signed English and spoken English–to–Oral English transliteration. Attendees will learn the signs, gestures, and facial/body grammar they need to produce when transliterating. This workshop gives interpreters the understanding and skills they need to convey messages in the language most readily understood by English–oriented deaf consumers.

Speak & Spell: Learning phonology and orthography to improve pronunciation and fingerspelling

We interpret in an increasingly multi-cultural world. We are daily confronted with foreign and/or idiosyncratic names and words that we don’t know how to pronounce or spell. This workshop will teach participants the sound systems (phonology) and spelling conventions (orthography) of several of the world’s languages. This understanding will help participants to pronounce and fingerspell foreign names and words correctly, thereby boosting their comfort and confidence while respecting all stakeholders in our internationalizing world.

‘Terps on film: Ethical or entertaining?

Film and television depictions of people interpreting offer interpreters some rare opportunities for analysis and self-reflection. Whether fictional characters’ behavior is clownish or heroic, ethical or unprofessional, audiences often think, “I wish I could do that, but I can’t.” We don’t act like fools because we have more sense, and we don’t act like heroes because we lack courage, but who are the heroes and who are the fools? In this workshop, participants will watch video clips of fictional characters interpreting, and after each clip, be guided in analysis and self-discovery with the aim of identifying how they want to “act” as interpreters in the world. The hope is that this community dialogue will foster both independent thinking and group norming with the end result being a more professional and ethical workforce that enhances interpreters’ job satisfaction and improves clients’ experience of interpreted events.