Sign Language Interpreter Essay

Words: 617
Pages: 3

As a sign language interpreter, social and affective meaning definitely impact me and my work in a variety of ways. There are also several ways to prepare for contextual factors to interpret as accurately as possible. According to RID, tenet 2.3 under Professionalism clearly states, “Render the message faithfully by conveying the content and the spirit of what is being communicated, using language most readily understood by consumers, and correcting errors discreetly and expeditiously” (RID, 2005, p.3). There are three environments in which I interpret.
The first is mainstream k-12 educational settings. Within this environment, it is important not only to prepare myself with the material being taught as well as familiarizing myself with the state standards, but I also need to learn the social aspects of the age group I am working with. There are so many levels of development physically, emotionally, academically, and socially depending on the grade level. Understanding what is important to students, their mannerisms and jargon help to pragmatically match the student when interpreting for them, and their hearing peers, including incidental learning.
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That setting is extremely diverse in call content, clientele, sign styles, and video quality with no ability to prepare for the content of each phone call. Call content varies extremely from personal to business and the clients can be any age, race, gender, or socioeconomic status. The best way to prepare to meet the needs, aspectually, socially, and contextually is to become a great actor and take on the affect of each client, ask for clarification when needed as to regional signs or intent if needed, and try to stay abreast of current events and draw from as many experiences as possible. Of course, there is no way any of us can be experts on all topics, so sometimes we need a team to support us or extra clarification and patience on the part of the