Daniel Greene

Tag: sign language

  • Vague Language workshop at Western Oregon University August 12

    I will be presenting my Vague Language (VL) workshop at a silent weekend at Western Oregon University on Friday, August 12, from 2:30 to 5:30 pm. This event is sponsored by the Western Region Interpreter Education Center (WRIEC) and happens to follow the first two–week colloquium of the first cohort of the Masters in Interpreting Studies / Teaching (MAIS) at Western Oregon University. I am excited about beginning my master’s degree and teaching about vague language (VL) at this silent weekend. Please register by completing the form below and check out the tentative agenda and topic abstracts. Hope to see you there!

    Early Bird registration fees available only until July 1st. Registration, tentative agenda & workshop abstracts also at http://www.wou.edu/education/sped/wriec/silent_weekend.php

    From the Silent Weekend coordinator:

    Greetings!

    On behalf of the ASL/English Interpreting Program at Western Oregon University, the Western Region Interpreter Education Center, the Oregon Department of Education’s Educational Interpreter Subcommittee, the Regional Resource Center on Deafness, and the Oregon Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, we would like to invite you to join us for our third annual Silent Weekend, August 12-14, 2011 in Monmouth, Oregon. This weekend, conducted completely in American Sign Language (ASL), is for Deaf and hearing students, interpreters, mentors, interpreter educators, and ASL instructors.

    Attendees and presenters can choose from two possible tracks – although they may participate in both – with corresponding workshops. The first is interpreter professional development, which is for working and pre-professional interpreters. The second track is for students and community members to develop their ASL skills and further learn linguistic features of the language.

    Interpreters: This is an opportunity to earn up to 1.4 CEUs! If you are looking for some worthwhile workshops and a chance to sharpen your skills, then Silent Weekend is for you!

    Thank you!

    ~CM

    For more information, contact:

    CM Hall, Ed.M., NIC Advanced, EIPA Ed K:12
    Project Coordinator
    Western Region Interpreter Education Center
    Western Oregon University

    W: 503-838-8731

    C: 503-888-7172

    Skype: WesternRegionInterpreterEdCenter

    Facebook: Western Region Interpreter Education Center

    Website: http://www.wou.edu/wriec

    To learn more about interpreting as a career, visit
    http://www.discoverinterpreting.com

    WRIEC is a collaborative endeavor of Western Oregon University and El Camino College and a member of the National Consortium of Interpreter Education Centers (NCIEC).

    UPDATE: Attendance was so good they had to move the workshop into a bigger room. Thanks, everyone!

  • Interpreting ASU Downtown Grand Opening in 2006

    Here is a sample of my platform interpreting. Had the opportunity to interpret the grand opening ceremonies of Arizona State University (ASU)’s downtown campus five years ago in Phoenix, Arizona. It took me a while to post this, but now I “have the technology,” so here it is.

  • Why are interpreters deaf community members? And other questions

    Recently, I read some statements made by a hearing person who had very limited exposure to deaf people and interpreters. This person was in a position to hire interpreters to accommodate requests from deaf people. While some of her comments shocked the sensibilities inculcated in me as an interpreter, I imagine that other hearing people who know little about deaf people or interpreters share the same thoughts. I will address these sentiments to the best of my ability. Please feel free to comment if you have something else to add.

    … the deaf community (and by that I mean, the deaf, not the interpreters, etc because I believe its ridiculous that a party who benefits heavily from the community be considered a part of it)…

    First, let’s dispense with the fallacy that a party who benefits heavily from a community should not be considered a part of it. The butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker are members of their community even though they prosper by selling their wares to other community members. A Rabbi is a member of her Jewish community even though she benefits from their synagogue dues. But the interpreter requestor has a point: why are people who are not deaf considered a part of a community of those who are?

    The short answer is that hearing people are members of the deaf community when deaf people say they are. We interpreters do not presume to be members of the deaf community, but deaf people invite us to be, and we are proud to be. The butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker are not members of the bovine, flour, or iron communities because inanimate materials do not form communities as people do. Deaf people, on the other hand, are people, and their language is inseparable from them. An interpreter must, therefore, enter the deaf community in order to possess an intimate knowledge of their language and culture; otherwise, they cannot be bilingual. And more important, they will not be trusted by deaf people who rightly view hearing people as potential threats to their way of life.

    When I went to the Conference of Interpreter Trainers in San Antonio last October, I attended two presentations that spoke to the issues of interpreter identity and community membership, by Robert G. Lee and Arlene Gunderson, respectively. Allow me to share some insights I gleaned from them. (more…)

  • I earned the title NIC Master and learned a lot along the way!

    I am happy to announce that the results of the “practical” and “oral” exam I took in August came in today: I passed at the Master level! The certifying board is the RID (Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf), and the exam is the National Interpreter Certification exam co–developed by NAD (National Association of the Deaf) and RID. Master is the highest of three levels: NIC, NIC Advanced, and NIC Master.

    I took this exam even though I was already RID-certified in 1998 and 1999, respectively, with the CI (Certificate of Interpretation) and CT (Certificate of Transliteration). The reason I took it was to stay current with my profession and show the interpreters I train and students I teach that I have mastered the test they hope to pass or advance in.

    Studying for the interview portion of this exam got me more familiar than ever with the NAD–RID Code of Professional Conduct (CPC). This helped me become a more ethically minded interpreter who can think through dilemmas, see the perspectives of all the stakeholders, enact solutions, and foresee the short– and long–term effects of my actions. If for nothing else, I am glad I took the exam the professional development aspect.

    I am grateful to Michelle Monahan, NIC Master, for her Mastering the Interview Portion of the NIC Exam workshop and to Windy Kellems, NIC Master, for being my study buddy as we practiced together to articulate answers to ethical dilemmas. You were both a great help, Michelle and Windy!

    —Daniel Greene, BA, CI and CT, NIC Master 🙂

  • The truth on interpreters for deaf at WordCamp Phoenix 2011

    I was “the interpreter” who offered to coordinate interpreters for WordCamp Phoenix 2011. I wish I could remain silent, but the blog post I’m responding to has been viewed almost 900 times already and has already been sanctioned by a famous deaf blogger who I believe would think otherwise if he read my side of the story. So, before anyone else is misled, allow me to set the record straight.

    I first spoke with Amanda, the conference organizer, on Thursday afternoon, January 14, and offered to interpret and coordinate. She told me the budget was $2,000 for a four–track conference which would need a maximum of eight interpreters. I figured I could get four professional interpreters to earn $50 an hour, get four students to volunteer their services pro bono, and that would still leave $400, half of which might go toward compensating me for coordinating services, and half of which might go toward gift cards for students.

    That same night, I found out that Amanda had un–registered a deaf registrant because she didn’t like her attitude. I advocated for the ousted registrant, emailing Amanda, “Deaf people routinely face discrimination and have to fight for their rights. In light of this, I find the registrant’s demands assertive rather than aggressive.” I even followed this up another day and asked Amanda if she would please consider reinstating her. Amanda was immovable.

    I should mention that the first deaf registrant had approached me around Thanksgiving about interpreting for WordCamp. I had said I would be interested and asked him to send me more information, but the holidays came and went before I saw an announcement from Amanda on the Arizona RID Yahoo Group. I knew how important it was for this deaf person to attend WordCamp, so I decided to provide for him even though I was not happy with Amanda’s handling of the other deaf registrant.

    By the end of the week, I had offers from two other professionals and at least four other students. At this point, all I needed was one more professional if (and that’s a big “if”) there were deaf attendees in all four tracks on Saturday. (more…)