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165 Designated Interpreter–Deaf Chief Executive Officer: Professional Interdependence 10 Doney Oatman When interpreters begin their careers, the immediate and continuous goal is to become proficient with the mechanics of the job. Once the interpreter becomes comfortable with the technical aspects of the interpreting task and feels that he or she has developed a good working knowledge of a code of ethical and professional conduct, the interpreter can proudly take his or her position as a generalist interpreter . At this point in their careers, many interpreters begin to acquire a more specialized skill (either natural talent or enthusiastic interest may lead the interpreter to the niche that he or she would like to pursue). The myriad of choices for specialization include, but are not limited to, interpreting in the legal, medical, mental health, performing arts, vocational rehabilitation, and educational fields. As more and more Deaf people rise in the ranks of organizations as professionals and administrators, another specialty has shown itself as a possible career option for interpreters—the role of designated interpreter to a deaf professional. After working for fifteen years in various assignments, I found my skills and interests were leading me toward the administrative levels of business and education . I began taking business courses and requesting interpreting assignments in administrative-level university meetings as a way of gaining entrée into this area of interpreting and to enhance my levels of skill and knowledge. I am now in a position that I enjoy very much as the designated interpreter to one of the highest ranking Deaf professionals in a mainstream college that serves Deaf and hard of hearing students. A position as a designated interpreter has afforded me the opportunity to become knowledgeable with respect to specific administrative jargon and has allowed me to become proficient at voice interpreting for this one Deaf professional. I have become proficient enough in the use of English and ASL, in fact, that delivering a very nice interpreted message takes very little effort. I say this, not to pause for a moment of self-congratulation, but to make a significant point. Because of my familiarity with this deaf professional and a high level of comfort with the numerous situations in which I provide him service, I now spend much less of my mental energy on the mechanics of interpreting. As I spend much less of my mental energy understanding the language I am receiving and finding the correct vernacular for the target language to match my listening audience, I can concentrate my 166 Doney Oatman effort on refining the nonlinguistic and noncultural aspects (see Dean and Pollard 2005 for discussion) of the interpreting process and providing the next level of service to my clients (both deaf and hearing). It is these extra-linguistic and extracultural skills that this chapter will address. In my position as designated interpreter to a high-level administrator, I have learned a great deal about the responsibilities and the boundaries that we each assume. The Deaf professional to whom I provide service has been wonderful in guiding me toward an understanding of certain behaviors and perspectives, both here at the university and when we travel abroad, that has helped me negotiate difficult procedures and protocols. As of this writing there are a handful of deaf professional–designated interpreter relationships being studied in the United States and not much if anything written about these working situations. Allisun Kale and Herbert Larson, who worked as a designated interpreter–deaf professional pair at California State University at Northridge, conducted a workshop at the 1998 PEPnet conference called “The Deaf Professional and the Interpreter: A Dynamic Duo” about their experiences as a designated interpreter–deaf professional pair (Kale and Larson 1998). They published a paper in the proceeds of that convention. I believe that pair was the first and only designated interpreter–deaf professional case recorded in the United States. Since then, nothing has been written. I have spoken with interpreters in other countries who have had the experience of working as a designated sign language interpreter to a Deaf professional, but to their knowledge, there has been nothing written with respect to this unique working relationship in their countries either. I would like to use this chapter as a starting point of discussion with respect to the responsibilities the interpreter holds in the various work relationships encountered in this unique dyad (considering both the designated interpreter and deaf professional in relating to each other and the designated interpreter–deaf professional...

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