Interpreter Question

Taylor

Taylor

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This may have been asked before but I can't seem to locate it. What are the qualifications to becoming an interpreter. I know our state has a requirement, but I don't know what that qualification is. What type of training, college, and education is required to become a terp.

Also, is there recognized organization when it comes to terps? I've seen a few, but I wasn't sure who was recognized, etc.

Lastly, any idea where I could find the above information that would be specific to the state of Maryland (if it is a state certification)?
 
I'm an interpreter myself.

Hi Taylor,
You don't need a state ceritfaction to be an interpreter.
I have a cerifacite from a communty college here in California in sign language.
I've know ASL now for almost 30 yrs, and I do alot of interpreting when I can.
Go to your local communty college in Maryland and ask if they have a sign lanaguage ceritfacte program, and GO FOR IT!!
Good luck!
Margie
OCADC Dir of Commutation Services
 
Each state has different requirements. Your local RID chapter or ITP college should be able to help you out there.

Some colleges offer 2-year programs, and a few offer 4-year programs. A 2-year program is the absolute minimum. If someone offers a program for less than that, be suspicious.

Requirements not only vary by state, they can also vary by school district (for educational terps), by state or private agency that hires terps, or by job assignment (such as legal interpreters, MUST be certified).

There are different kinds of certification and licensing. RID and NAD offer certifications. Some states also require licenses, which are not the same thing as certifications, but can include certifications (gets a little complicated).

Maryland might be part of a regional rather than state group, because of the Washington metro overlap. The people at the Potomac chapter can probably give you details.

If you can get a local mentor, that is a great way to have someone walk you thru the processes.
 
Taylor -- MD state does require certification -- at least its in Montgomery County that i know of -- there are agencies u can look into in MD for more in depth info -- SLA (http://www.signlanguage.com/), BIS (http://www.bisworld.com/) -- if there are other terp agencies i may have forgotten, i will post again here for u :D

Reba has given u VERY good links -- check out those links that Reba has provided here -- good luck! :D

good luck in ur endeavors Taylor!
 
Thanks for all of the great links, gang. I have some reading to do. I'm not sure how far to pursue it. I don't plan to make a career as a terp, but will use it for my current career in law enforcement. We have spanish translators, but not much as far as sign language goes. In my off time, I could do something elsewhere, perhaps the hospital. I don't know if that is something one could volunteer for or not.

Also, is there any type of animosity that runs between career terps and volunteer terps? I've seen it in other organizations where career and vollunteer have issues with each other. I just want to go through with it and then stay current. With the PD, I would probably be used once every month or two, if that. I'd like to use it elsewhere to stay current and immersed.

The good news is there is a chance my department would pay for it. They do pay for some college classes, but its justified of need. If they see a need for a translator, then they may pick up the tab :)
 
Reba,
Great link to the lifeprint site....some good stuff there :)
 
Reba,
Thanks for those links...makes me wonder if I know what I"m getting myself into :)
 
Taylor said:
I don't plan to make a career as a terp, but will use it for my current career in law enforcement. We have spanish translators, but not much as far as sign language goes. In my off time, I could do something elsewhere, perhaps the hospital. I don't know if that is something one could volunteer for or not.
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So as I understand it, you are already in law enforcement, and would like to learn some sign or interpreting in order to help out at your current job. That's admirable. However, have you checked with your department to see what they currently do when a sign language interpreter is needed? If they go with an agency that has nationally certified interpreters, that would definitely be preferred. Also, medical interpreting is a VERY complex and involved field that usually involves a good amount of education over and above that needed for regular interpreting. People with a little bit of sign shouldn't be heading over to the hospital.

Also, is there any type of animosity that runs between career terps and volunteer terps? I've seen it in other organizations where career and vollunteer have issues with each other.
Click to expand...

I can't speak for where you are. In my area there is a huge deaf population and a number of well respected ITPs. As a result there really aren't sections of career vs. volunteer interpreters. Someone who is volunteering is either a student or very beginning interpreter working with a VERY :lol: patient deaf person, or someone helping out a friend, or "giving back" to the community.

The problems that arise are when "volunteer" interpreters undercut the professional community by offering free or very low-priced services. This is actually warned against in the RID Code of Ethics. There is absolutely no problem in occasionally volunteering your services (for example, I used to interpret specialized religious services for two deaf friends several times a year, both before I became a professional interpreter and afterwards). You just need to make sure you are not volunteering at a place where normally they would be hiring professionals.

I'd like to use it elsewhere to stay current and immersed.
Click to expand...

A better bet is to become involved in the d/Deaf community and stay immersed in sign, rather than interpreting. You will learn far more socializing with native signers than by struggling with your own beginning interpreting. And this is not a slam against you, this is me talking from my own personal experience!

Your heart seems to be in the right place, I would just advise making absolutely sure of what services are already in place, both by asking the organizations in question and, hopefully, the deaf people who use them. In the interpreting world, free is definitely not always better.
 
Interpretrator,
You have guessed correctly :) I currently work in law enforcement and this would be to help out with my current job. We have spanish speaking officers, but nobody on staff that signs. We do have on-call interpreters that are called in if a deaf person is arrested. Reba posted a Great Link for interpreters when it comes to legal issues. This goes above what my expertise would include, and some could argue that there is a bias because I already work for the department (How do they know the subject in custody really understood his rights).

My aim was for more on the streets type things. Deaf persons house was broken into and XXX was stolen. Another good example would be for any other type of victim where it is critical to get suspect information (Robbery just occured....Hit and Run and any number of other incidents). Its more of a means of getting the proper information in a timely manner.

The analogy I can use is in regards to our spanish speaking officers. An officer responds to a domestic violence call. Officers arrive and determine that the language barrier is too great to get the proper information. A spanish speaking officer will then respond to that scene.
Oftentimes it is unknown how great the language barrier is until the first officers arrive. Some officers know enough spanish to communicate (although some barrier still exists) with a victim. They can get the information they need.

We don't have enough spanish speaking officers to respond to every call in a Hispanic community, and many of the residents speak English fluently so they are not often needed. Its those times when the language barrier is too great that one is called in. If a Hispanic subject is arrested, then a certified interpreter is brought in. This ensures that the suspect gets proper due process and his rights are understood. Our spanish speaking officers do more from the victim side than the suspect side.

A recent incident comes to mind where a deaf persons home was broken into. He awoke to find somebody in his room and he chased them off. For the most part, communication was good between the officers and the victim until the subject of a handgun came up. This now went from a Breaking and Entering to a Home Invasion robbery. In law enforecement, there is a big difference between the two. What really happened was the intruder did not have a gun, but the victim was trying to explain that his own handgun had been stolen by the intruder...we are now back to B&E and not a home invasion robbery. This little detail caused some confusion even though it could have been easily avoided.

It is more or less from a victim standpoint that I'm aiming for. I've seen complaints here on this very forum where deaf have a difficult time communicating with police and it causes frustration for both sides. If somebody could respond who was somewhat fluent, it would help bridge that gap....helping both parties....and its minor things I'm referring to. For example, it can be difficult to explain to some people the proper procedure for when they are involved in a car accident (contact your insurance company, etc). If an officer finds he is having trouble, somebody can be called in without calling in an interpreter at 3am.

Does any of that explain it a little better and make sense?
 
Taylor said:
If an officer finds he is having trouble, somebody can be called in without calling in an interpreter at 3am.
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Yes, that sounds like an ideal situation. What you are talking about really is learning to sign, not to interpret. So for those minor "here's what you have to do" moments you can communicate with the deaf person and then later when they have to come in for a deposition or whatever, you can bring in a certified interpreter with training or a certificate in the legal field. You may still have to do that at 3am, but that's what on-call interpreters are for!

You're right, deaf people have all kinds of problems with police -- for some reason apparently they often refuse to read notes or refuse to believe them. I'm sure it would be great to have someone at your department who can sign.

I would only caution you to be very careful about the distinction between signing and interpreting, and also make even MORE careful that your colleagues understand as well. (There's a lot of "oh, you've taken one semester of sign? Well we need and interpreter, come help us out, oh I'm sure you'll be fine!" out there.) They need to know that you can be a great point person for a deaf person but may be very unqualified to take a deposition, and this is hard for a lot of people to understand. And the legal field is VERY sticky. Cases can get thrown out of court or even worse can occur if there is miscommunication, especially if one party thinks the other one has understood and he/she has not. This is why I am not touching legal with a ten-foot pole! :)

Good luck!!
 
Going WAY off-topic here, but I was wondering which entertainment groups interpreters favor?
I am aware that interpreters cannot name names, but I have talked with interpreters who have interpreted rock groups, folk singers, etc., and WOW, I cannot believe what assholes the performers can be when it comes right down to it, to the rights of deafies at performances.
Heck, I know that a few times the spotlight highlighting the interpreter was shut off, we do not hear about this in the mainstream media, and I just wanted to know what you interpreters think and have experienced, bad and good.
(Hint: "someone" ALWAYS takes the interpreters backstage to thank them, cool.)
 
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Sorry Beowulf, I don't have any personal experience with rock group or theatrical performances. I've only heard and read about other terps' experiences. Most of my assignments are college, community (job related, medical), and church.
 
Lol, old school, huh?
Dang, I guess I better quit thinking about the good old days when the garage door opener was the hottest thing, and just get with the program.
*patting your head*
 
Beowulf said:
Lol, old school, huh?
Dang, I guess I better quit thinking about the good old days when the garage door opener was the hottest thing, and just get with the program.
*patting your head*
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Well, if the Stones ever perform in my city I guess I would fit right in. Ha! :lol:
 
Thanks for the great responses. This information is coming in pretty handy.

I would only caution you to be very careful about the distinction between signing and interpreting, and also make even MORE careful that your colleagues understand as well. (There's a lot of "oh, you've taken one semester of sign? Well we need and interpreter, come help us out, oh I'm sure you'll be fine!" out there.) They need to know that you can be a great point person for a deaf person but may be very unqualified to take a deposition, and this is hard for a lot of people to understand.
Click to expand...

Point taken. One thing I have already learned is to know what my capabilities are and where to draw the line. Helping somebody at the scene for something would work...interviewing a suspect (unless minor theft, etc) would be left up to the professional terps :)

Going WAY off-topic here, but I was wondering which entertainment groups interpreters favor?
I am aware that interpreters cannot name names, but I have talked with interpreters who have interpreted rock groups, folk singers, etc., and WOW, I cannot believe what assholes the performers can be when it comes right down to it, to the rights of deafies at performances.
Heck, I know that a few times the spotlight highlighting the interpreter was shut off, we do not hear about this in the mainstream media, and I just wanted to know what you interpreters think and have experienced, bad and good.
(Hint: "someone" ALWAYS takes the interpreters backstage to thank them, cool.)
Click to expand...

Beowulf, I know you meant this from a deaf standpoint, but it is for the hearies too. Many performers are a-holes...whether you can hear or not. They probably go hand in hand. As you know, I'm coming from radio into law enforcment and I've dealt with some of the nicest artists who would have no problem with deaf rights...if fact would enjoy knowing the could entertain the deaf.

OTH, I've met plenty of them that were not so nice, and hearing or not, they were just a-holes altogether. I won't mention names either, but I've told more than one artist to shove their CD where the sun doesn't shine as I refuse to play it on the air anymore. If you provide me with a list (and some proof that they aren't deaf friendly) I'd be more than happy to skip them when the time comes ;)
 
Hi Taylor,Sign Langauge is a good thing to know.

Hi Talyor,
Its good to ASL for any job, no matter what it is, you may run into some deaf who can use you.
I do interpreting when I can, and you don't need any cerifaction.
The RID test is very hard and expenisve.
I've known sign language for 30 yrs.
Go find a deaf org. to volunteer at so you can keep up your sign language.
Good luck!
Margie
Dir. of Communation Services
OCDAC
 
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