Daniel Greene

Tag: ASL

American Sign Language

  • What I Love about VRS

    In a recent post, I bemoaned the lack of interpreter-client relationship that comes of the anonymity imposed upon video interpreters. When I first wrote that, about a month before I published it on my blog, my morale about video relay interpreting was in a bit of a slump. Getting out and doing more interpreting in the community, i.e. face-to-face, has revitalized me, I guess. Lately, I really enjoy going in to work, and I’d like to share here some of what I think is great about VRS (in no particular order).

    1. I love going to the call center and working 4–6 hours in one place without having to drive all over the county to several shorter jobs.
    2. I love using technology to improve the lives of deaf people and their hearing family members, friends, and co-workers.
    3. I love being on TV in homes all over the country. It’s what I always wanted! 😉
    4. I love it when I interpret a call and the hearing and/or deaf people say to their interlocutor, “Wow! I finally understand you!
    5. I love meeting deaf people from all different regions of the U.S. and learning all their different regional signs.
    6. I love the “cross-pollenation” that is happening with deaf people and interpreters in various regions talking to each other in ASL, and I believe this might help to standardize ASL a bit more and make it easier for people to understand each other wherever they’re from.
    7. I love how my voice interpreting (ASL-to-English interpreting) has improved since I began doing VRS interpreting!
    8. I love exploring the unique challenges that come with VRS interpreting such as: register variation (from intimate to frozen, sometimes in the same call), unfamiliarity with topic, personnel, and specialized vocabulary.
    9. I love the fact that, since I got a regular job doing VRS interpreting, I’ve been able to buy a home and begin saving for my retirement!
    10. Oh! And I love seeing people’s adorable pets on camera! Brightens my day!

    There are others things I love, but that’s all I can think of for now. 🙂

  • Where Are The ASL Interpreter Blogs?

    Is it possible that mine is the first ASL interpreter blog? I have searched the Internet for other ASL interpreter blogs, and I can’t find any. There are hordes of Deaf Blogs and Vlogs out there—hooray for deaf people!—but where in the blogosphere are my interpreting colleagues?

    I wonder if there are no ASL interpreter blogs because we have to keep our mouths shut about our work to protect client confidentiality. Yes, we need to protect our consumers, but we can talk about our work publicly! I believe it will benefit our profession and our consumers, too, if we talk about our work in a way that is illuminating without betraying any confidential information.

    That is my goal here—to talk about ASL signing and interpreting in such a way as to inform and stimulate discussion while maintaining a sense of professionalism and respect for my colleagues and our hearing and deaf consumers. I look forward to the time when this blog is full of comments from deaf and hearing readers engaged in meaningful dialogues that have a profound and positive effect on the work we do and the people we serve. I look forward to adding other ASL interpreter blogs to my blogroll and being added to theirs.

    Blog on, ‘terps!

    Related posts:

  • Deaf Guy Touts Top Ten WordPress Plugins

    This guy subscribed to my videos on YouTube (thank-you-very-much!) so I checked him out. He has several ASL videos, and one in particular caught my eye because my new blog is “powered by WordPress.” In this video, he describes his 10 favorite WordPress plugins. I’m glad I watched, because several of the plugins he described could improve the functionality of my blog.

    While watching his video, I felt so happy to understand ASL! Ah, the benefits of knowing a second language! 😀

  • How to Send vCard via Bluetooth on Sidekick 3: A YouTube Video

    Speaking and signing at the same time, in Pidgin Signed English, I show you how to set your contact information in your address book as your vCard. Then I show you how to turn on Bluetooth and send your vCard to other SK3’s.

  • ASL Introduction on YouTube

    This is my intro in ASL. I say, “Hi, I’m Daniel Greene. I am hearing. I work as an interpreter, and I also sing. I hope you enjoy my movies, whether you are hearing or deaf. Are you interested in learning more about ASL interpreting? Check out my web site, danielgreene.com!