Miss-Delectable
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Deaf culture meets interpretation obstacles at Univ. - Variety
What is that?" a voice behind me said. It was one of those days where the Milledge bus was so crowded that someone's face was leaning on my right shoulder and someone's butt on my left. I had forgotten my rule to not study my sign language book in public. There are more pictures than words, and practicing entails mimicing a 2-D version of a life-size, 3-D sign.
"It's my sign language book … ASL is my foreign language credit," I said.
People usually are surprised that the University offers American Sign Language. Their second thought is usually, "I should've done that. I bet it's so easy."
Though the three semesters that I have completed have been anything but easy, they have been a lot of fun. I have met interesting people - some hearing, some Deaf. I have found the courage to approach a Deaf person and have a conversation with them. I know how to sign the lyrics to several songs - from Beyoncé to Radiohead.
But recently, I got to revisit my original intention in mastering this language. Two weeks ago, I set up an opportunity to shadow Kevin Karneboge, an ASL interpreter for the University. When I first began sign language and grasped the concept of Deaf culture, I knew I wanted to be a crusader and vowed to one day get my own interpretation certification.
The Deaf student's name was Jasmine, and she is one of three at the University who use an interpreter. I was interested to see how the rest of the class handled this emphatic gestural communication at the front of their classroom.
Surprisingly, they seemed to not notice. This was a science education class, and Kevin said the students in this major had been together for several semesters, so they were used to Jasmine and her interpreters.
Still, I was shocked that none of them took the time to learn simple signs, or even so much as make eye contact with her.
It was obvious, however, that Jasmine did have a friendship with her interpreters. They were able to laugh and joke about the ridiculousness of class experiments. It was comparable to a healthy relationship between student and teacher. Although the actual instructor of the course did his best to accommodate Jasmine, it was easy for him to forget her deafness.
The day's class required a demonstration in which they had to turn out the lights. Jasmine interjected that she would not be able to see the interpreter with the lights off. They resolved to turn the lights on whenever he began to speak.
Alas, there were still many moments that Jasmine missed. Also, the interpreter had to judge what was most relevant to convey. Jasmine almost always missed silly jokes and comments from her fellow students. It was hard to differentiate what should be communicated to her because the loudest voice was not always the most important one.
I started to realize just how difficult the job of an interpreter is. Yes, there were a myriad of obstacles to conquer while trying to accurately convey the material to your student, but it seems the biggest obstacle is one of macrocosm proportions: Deafness is a culture, not a disability. Hearing loss does not hinder an individual's capability. Until this notion is accepted in our society, the contrary will prevail, which hinders a culture vigorously fighting to thrive within our mainstream culture.
Yeah, I had the same exp as Jasmine. I had friendship with this two permanent terps, but none with hearing students.
What is that?" a voice behind me said. It was one of those days where the Milledge bus was so crowded that someone's face was leaning on my right shoulder and someone's butt on my left. I had forgotten my rule to not study my sign language book in public. There are more pictures than words, and practicing entails mimicing a 2-D version of a life-size, 3-D sign.
"It's my sign language book … ASL is my foreign language credit," I said.
People usually are surprised that the University offers American Sign Language. Their second thought is usually, "I should've done that. I bet it's so easy."
Though the three semesters that I have completed have been anything but easy, they have been a lot of fun. I have met interesting people - some hearing, some Deaf. I have found the courage to approach a Deaf person and have a conversation with them. I know how to sign the lyrics to several songs - from Beyoncé to Radiohead.
But recently, I got to revisit my original intention in mastering this language. Two weeks ago, I set up an opportunity to shadow Kevin Karneboge, an ASL interpreter for the University. When I first began sign language and grasped the concept of Deaf culture, I knew I wanted to be a crusader and vowed to one day get my own interpretation certification.
The Deaf student's name was Jasmine, and she is one of three at the University who use an interpreter. I was interested to see how the rest of the class handled this emphatic gestural communication at the front of their classroom.
Surprisingly, they seemed to not notice. This was a science education class, and Kevin said the students in this major had been together for several semesters, so they were used to Jasmine and her interpreters.
Still, I was shocked that none of them took the time to learn simple signs, or even so much as make eye contact with her.
It was obvious, however, that Jasmine did have a friendship with her interpreters. They were able to laugh and joke about the ridiculousness of class experiments. It was comparable to a healthy relationship between student and teacher. Although the actual instructor of the course did his best to accommodate Jasmine, it was easy for him to forget her deafness.
The day's class required a demonstration in which they had to turn out the lights. Jasmine interjected that she would not be able to see the interpreter with the lights off. They resolved to turn the lights on whenever he began to speak.
Alas, there were still many moments that Jasmine missed. Also, the interpreter had to judge what was most relevant to convey. Jasmine almost always missed silly jokes and comments from her fellow students. It was hard to differentiate what should be communicated to her because the loudest voice was not always the most important one.
I started to realize just how difficult the job of an interpreter is. Yes, there were a myriad of obstacles to conquer while trying to accurately convey the material to your student, but it seems the biggest obstacle is one of macrocosm proportions: Deafness is a culture, not a disability. Hearing loss does not hinder an individual's capability. Until this notion is accepted in our society, the contrary will prevail, which hinders a culture vigorously fighting to thrive within our mainstream culture.
Yeah, I had the same exp as Jasmine. I had friendship with this two permanent terps, but none with hearing students.