Issues Unresolved: New Perspectives on Language and Deaf Education

5. The Use of Addition in Sign Language Transliteration

The Use of Addition in Sign Language Transliteration Linda A. Siple 5 IN FACILITATING communication between deaf and hearing consumers, an interpreter can either interpret or transliterate. Interpreting involves translating the message into the native sign language of the community, The current definition of transliteration, published by the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, is "the process of changing an English text into Manually Coded English (or vice versa)" (Frishberg 1986, 19). Manually Coded English has been used as an umbrella term to include forms of signed English, ranging from artificial sign systems to Pidgin Sign English (PSE). However, when used during transliteration, each type of signed English creates a very different target message. Herein lies the source of a continual debate within the profession . For some, transliteration is a word-for-word recoding of the spoken English (i.e., the use of the artificial sign systems or signed English). Others perceive transliteration as the use of PSE or, as Winston (1989, 148) stated, "a complex combination of features from ASL and from English." The ambiguous definition of the actual form of transliteration has led to inconsistencies in the education and certification of interpreters. In addition, the perception that transliteration is simply the robotic task of assigning a sign to each word has led to a status difference between interpretation and transliteration . For some, the process of interpretation between ASL and English is perceived as a more complex task that is, therefore, more highly valued. AMBIGUOUS DEFINITION For many working interpreters, this ambiguous definition has evolved into viewing transliteration as having the potential to yield two completely separate forms. This commonly held view was made apparent during the collection of data for this study; which analyzed the types of information that are added to target messages by sign language interpreters working from a spoken English source message. Although the interpreters used in this study Part of this work was supported through an agreement between the Rochester Institute of Technology and the u.s. Department of Education. Grateful acknowledgment is made to Dr. George Barnett, Dr. Susan Fischer, Dr. Christine Monikowski, and Dr. Michael Stinson for their valuable assistance in analyzing the data generated in this study. 65 66 LINDA A. SIPLE were videotaped individually; the following conversation occurred with almost all of them prior to the videotaping: Siple: Do you have any questions before we start? Interpreter: Yes, it says on the consent form that you want me to transliterate. What do you mean by transliteration? Siple: What does transliteration mean to you? Interpreter: Well, there's word-for-word, and then there's what I consider to be a more effective form. Siple: I want you to transliterate the audiotape so that these three deaf people (name of deaf person A), (name of deaf person B), and (name of deaf person C:) [points to the names of three deaf people familiar to the interpreter ], would fully understand the message. Interpreter: 'Then I'll do what I think is effective. The relative lack of research on transliteration has allowed this ambiguous definition and perception to persist. It is only through an in-depth analysis of the actual forms interpreters generate when transliterating that the profession will be able to better define the task. A clearer and more accurate definition will improve the education of student interpreters and will enhance the certification process of professional interpreters. Transliteration is most frequently used in the educational setting where the deaf student must have access to the specific English features of a message , such as the technical jargon of a topic. However, if the message is presented in verbatim English (i.e., a sign for each word spoken), the message is inaccessible for many deaf students. If the message is presented using only American Sign Language (ASL), then the pertinent English features are missing. Thus, the most effective transliteration appears to be a combination of signed English and ASL features. TRANSLITER.ATION STRATEGIES To date, Winston (1989) has been the only researcher who has presented a systematic analysis of what is happening during transliteration. She found that the one interpreter in her study used at least five different strategies when transliterating (i.e., addition, omission, substitution, rephrasing, and sign choice). As she (Winston 1989, 150) stated: Since the goal [of transliteration] is to provide a visual target form that not only resembles to some extent spoken English structures but at the same time is also comprehensible, it is appropriate to use forms that are...