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77 The Work of the Brazilian Sign Language Interpreter in High Schools Cristina Broglia Feitosa de Lacerda and Laura Jane Messias Belém “Libras [Brazilian Sign Language] interpreters are professionals who master the sign language and spoken language of the country and are qualified to play the role of interpreter” (Quadros, 2004, p. 27). The act of interpreting is a cognitive-linguistic activity, in which interpreters work between people with specific communicative intentions who use different languages. In such communicative interaction, interpreters have “full power to influence the object and the product of interpretation” (ibid.). Interpreters are found in many social situations (e.g., in church pulpits, on TV, and on campaign trails) and are increasingly familiar figures in Brazilian society in general as they work to make information accessible to the Deaf community. Interpreters are often seen as people whose work is simply to translate from one language to another. However, interpreters understand the weight of their responsibility and of having “full power to influence the object and the product of interpretation” (Quadros, 2004, p. 27). They realize they need to constantly assess all of the possible meanings and the various contexts characterizing any particular discourse in order to make the best choices (Bakhtin, 1992). Interpreters are one manifestation of deaf people’s right to adequate access to information (Jokinen, 2000). Translator-interpreters of Brazilian Sign Language (TISL) are competent in Libras and in Portuguese and have also mastered the techniques of translation and interpretation (Quadros, 2004, p. 28). Within this framework are many controversial issues regarding their work, and this study looks at some of these as they apply to interpreters working in high schools, whom we henceforth refer to as educational interpreters (EIs), as defined by Lacerda (2009). 78 : L a c e r d a a n d B e l é m Unlike most TISLs, EIs work consistently with the same group of deaf individuals (i.e., students) and employ specific modes of action on a day-to-day basis (Lacerda, 2009). In Brazil, EIs who work at different educational levels are still few in number; the majority work in situations beyond the high school level. At other levels their number has only gradually increased in the past few years. Activities in which the EIs are currently involved have expanded both in diversity and in complexity and require a degree of expertise, which prompts the need for further study and academic training (Gurgel, 2010). Questions about how to improve the role of EIs and their performance (Lacerda, 2006) suggest that further research in the field is necessary. When EIs arrive in classrooms to work, they must decide how best to act, and their time is usually split between supporting students and keeping up with the pace set by the teacher or the school. They try to express relevant observations or concerns to the people involved in the educational context but are frustrated when they feel they are not being heard, or they may experience a sense of defeat when deaf students do not meet academic goals. The assumed role of EIs is limited to translating content generated by the teacher and the hearing students (i.e., Portuguese to Libras), as well as that generated by the deaf students (i.e., Libras to Portuguese). This means that the use of Libras in the school environment is not only the interpreter ’s exclusive responsibility but also their only responsibility. Theschoolenvironment,however,iswherestudentsacquireknowledge; therefore, other issues emerge that are not limited to communication. For a more in-depth discussion of the subject, one must look at the elements that compete for interpreters’ attention. The first is that deaf students are not always fluent in Libras. The majority come from hearing families that have a history of late contact with sign language. In addition, most of these students have had no previous experience either with a bilingual approach to teaching or with EIs. Thus, many of them are interacting with interpreters for the first time, do not have the requisite prior academic knowledge, do not understand the sign language used by the interpreters, and do not know how to relate to these professionals. It is evident that many young deaf students who reach high school are fluent in neither Libras nor Portuguese: “Through the word, I define myself with regard to the Other, that is, ultimately, with regard to collectivity. The word is a kind of bridge between me and others. If it relies on me at one end, on...

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