Abstract
American Sign Language (ASL)/English interpreters working between ASL and spoken English make linguistic and cultural choices that impact the success of an interpreted event. One task is the selection of comparable vocabulary to best represent their clients' thoughts. This exploratory qualitative study was conducted to identify how ASL/English interpreters transfer meaning when African American English (AAE) is incorporated into signed language. Each interpreter simultaneously interpreted an ASL narrative into spoken English. Participants were asked to complete a demographic survey to ascertain whether social factors of age, race, ethnicity, experience, mode of language acquisition, and/or age of language acquisition had any bearing on the interpretation. Following the collection of the interpreting sample and demographic data, two interviews were conducted utilizing a semi-structured format to provide insight into the strategic decisions made by the participants. The findings identify three strategic decisions interpreters used in lieu of incorporating AAE: omission, external processing, and discourse chunking. The overarching purpose was to collect empirical data that will lend itself to dialogues on how to best equip signed language professionals to meet the needs of African American/Black Deaf consumers.
Exit Requirement
Thesis
Date of Award
Spring 6-3-2015
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Interpreting Studies
Committee Chair
Pamela Cancel
Committee Member
Elisa Maroney
Committee Member
Carolyn McCaskill
Keywords
African American/Black, ASL/English Interpreter, Deaf, Signed Language, African American English, Culture
Language
eng
Type (DCMI Terms)
Text
Subject Categories
African American Studies | Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education | Critical and Cultural Studies | Discourse and Text Linguistics | Ethnic Studies | Other Languages, Societies, and Cultures | Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies
Recommended Citation
Shambourger, N. (2015). Navigating language variety: ASL/English interpreters “giving voice” to African American/black deaf signed language users (master's thesis). Western Oregon University, Monmouth, Oregon. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.wou.edu/theses/23
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Additional Files
PDF-A Navigating Language Variety_ ASL_English Interpreters _Giving Voi.pdf (1564 kB)PDF/A Version
Included in
African American Studies Commons, Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons, Critical and Cultural Studies Commons, Discourse and Text Linguistics Commons, Ethnic Studies Commons, Other Languages, Societies, and Cultures Commons
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In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
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