Miss-Delectable
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Signing off on the Olympics
Nigel Howard was scheduled to do sign language interpretation today for a University of Victoria play. That all changed when the 2010 Winter Olympics Games asked him to sign the closing ceremonies on Sunday.
Today, Howard, who is deaf, will attend a Vancouver rehearsal for the big event. Interpreting the closing ceremonies is an incredible honour for this 46-year-old man.
He will not hear the clamour of 60,000 people at B.C. Place Stadium. However, Howard will certainly see, touch, smell, taste and feel the excitement.
His interpretation will be projected onto a screen. It is history-making. Howard says it's the first time the Olympic ceremonies have ever been interpreted into American Sign Language.
"It's a huge honour," the Vancouver man said at UVic this week, signing through an interpreter. "I'm hoping this will be the first step in opening ASL to global exposure."
Howard stressed his Olympics gig is only a first for American Sign Language, which is quite different from Signed Exact English. Unlike SEE, American Sign Language is not a word-by-word translation of English. ASL is a separate language from SEE, just as German is different from Inuit, for example.
Howard says deaf people who speak American Sign Language (mostly North Americans) are a widely misunderstood minority. He compares their situation to that of black people facing racial prejudice. Their inability to hear leads some outsiders to wrongly assume they're less intelligent or able.
Equally important and also misunderstood, says Howard, is the fact deaf ASL speakers belong to a separate and distinct culture. This is a fascinating thing. He says as with people belonging to any distinct culture, there are some things you have to be a deaf ASL speaker to understand.
And that is why Howard is regularly flown from Vancouver to Victoria to do ASL interpretations for such UVic theatre department productions as Legoland, La Ronde and Wind in the Willows. At these events, a word-by-word translation of the dialogue is done by a hearing interpreter in the audience. Howard, who's on the stage, takes this literal translation and interprets it into ASL. It is a language that's more abstract than the literal translation-- and one with more meaning for those who claim ASL is their first language.
Take, for example, Mark Antony's famous speech from Julius Caesar, beginning: "Friends, Romans, countrymen. Lend me your ears...." Howard's ASL interpretation would sidestep the notion of ear-lending in favour of something like, "Now listen to me."
It's better for a deaf person to interpret using ASL, says Howard, just as a Frenchman is the best choice to speak French to Parisians. There are subtleties of nuance and meaning. And, Howard -- though careful not to steal the limelight -- is clever at acting out what's happening on stage.
It's trickier than it sounds. Wind in the Willows requires some 30 actors. "That was a tough one," said Howard.
He's a handsome, dynamic fellow whose facial expressions are animated and gestures are quick and precise. Howard was born deaf. His mother had rubella (German measles) when she was pregnant.
The woman interpreting our interview was Kristi Falconer, UVic's student advisor for deaf and hard-of-hearing students. It was Falconer who arranged to have Howard interpret plays at the university. Usually, there are about 20 non-hearing people in the audience for these shows.
He sees ASL interpreting as more than merely providing a service. It shows the public that deaf people are capable. It shows they are out there, a part of society, just like anyone else.
Howard views his appearance at the Olympics closing ceremonies in a similar way. For instance, he says people from some countries still view the deaf as being somehow mentally sub-par. Howard relishes the opportunity to prove otherwise in front of an international audience.
"People think deaf means we cannot do this or that," he said. "And that's not true."
Nigel Howard was scheduled to do sign language interpretation today for a University of Victoria play. That all changed when the 2010 Winter Olympics Games asked him to sign the closing ceremonies on Sunday.
Today, Howard, who is deaf, will attend a Vancouver rehearsal for the big event. Interpreting the closing ceremonies is an incredible honour for this 46-year-old man.
He will not hear the clamour of 60,000 people at B.C. Place Stadium. However, Howard will certainly see, touch, smell, taste and feel the excitement.
His interpretation will be projected onto a screen. It is history-making. Howard says it's the first time the Olympic ceremonies have ever been interpreted into American Sign Language.
"It's a huge honour," the Vancouver man said at UVic this week, signing through an interpreter. "I'm hoping this will be the first step in opening ASL to global exposure."
Howard stressed his Olympics gig is only a first for American Sign Language, which is quite different from Signed Exact English. Unlike SEE, American Sign Language is not a word-by-word translation of English. ASL is a separate language from SEE, just as German is different from Inuit, for example.
Howard says deaf people who speak American Sign Language (mostly North Americans) are a widely misunderstood minority. He compares their situation to that of black people facing racial prejudice. Their inability to hear leads some outsiders to wrongly assume they're less intelligent or able.
Equally important and also misunderstood, says Howard, is the fact deaf ASL speakers belong to a separate and distinct culture. This is a fascinating thing. He says as with people belonging to any distinct culture, there are some things you have to be a deaf ASL speaker to understand.
And that is why Howard is regularly flown from Vancouver to Victoria to do ASL interpretations for such UVic theatre department productions as Legoland, La Ronde and Wind in the Willows. At these events, a word-by-word translation of the dialogue is done by a hearing interpreter in the audience. Howard, who's on the stage, takes this literal translation and interprets it into ASL. It is a language that's more abstract than the literal translation-- and one with more meaning for those who claim ASL is their first language.
Take, for example, Mark Antony's famous speech from Julius Caesar, beginning: "Friends, Romans, countrymen. Lend me your ears...." Howard's ASL interpretation would sidestep the notion of ear-lending in favour of something like, "Now listen to me."
It's better for a deaf person to interpret using ASL, says Howard, just as a Frenchman is the best choice to speak French to Parisians. There are subtleties of nuance and meaning. And, Howard -- though careful not to steal the limelight -- is clever at acting out what's happening on stage.
It's trickier than it sounds. Wind in the Willows requires some 30 actors. "That was a tough one," said Howard.
He's a handsome, dynamic fellow whose facial expressions are animated and gestures are quick and precise. Howard was born deaf. His mother had rubella (German measles) when she was pregnant.
The woman interpreting our interview was Kristi Falconer, UVic's student advisor for deaf and hard-of-hearing students. It was Falconer who arranged to have Howard interpret plays at the university. Usually, there are about 20 non-hearing people in the audience for these shows.
He sees ASL interpreting as more than merely providing a service. It shows the public that deaf people are capable. It shows they are out there, a part of society, just like anyone else.
Howard views his appearance at the Olympics closing ceremonies in a similar way. For instance, he says people from some countries still view the deaf as being somehow mentally sub-par. Howard relishes the opportunity to prove otherwise in front of an international audience.
"People think deaf means we cannot do this or that," he said. "And that's not true."
