Techniques Deployed by Spoken and Sign Language Public Service Interpreters: A Comparative Study
Techniques Deployed by Spoken and Sign Language Public Service Interpreters: A Comparative Study

Summary/Abstract: Deaf people are among those who, due to their insufficient knowledge of Polish, are compelled to use interpreting services in all settings. In order to exercise their right to full access to information within both public and private services, they need highly skilled sign language interpreters. These, however, have relatively limited opportunities of professional development and no possibility to pursue higher education in the area of sign language interpreting. In our paper a pioneer project, consisting in providing training opportunities for Polish Sign Language (PJM) interpreters on the use of strategies and techniques in public service interpreting, is presented. The study is based on a mixed-method approach combining a qualitative and quantitative analysis. In particular, the results of observations of the use of techniques in public service interpreting made during two, 3-hour each, training workshops organized for PJM interpreters are discussed, followed by the presentation of the results of a survey concerning the use of interpreting techniques carried out among the participants of the above two workshops. The results of both the observations and the survey have inspired many questions concerning an ethical aspect of both spoken and sign language interpreting techniques. Furthermore, a necessity to implement a project relating to further training and research, of which the discussed pilot project is a promising point of departure, has been confirmed.

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