International Perspectives on Sign Language Interpreter Education: Volume 4: 04 - Hardcover

Napier, Jemina

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 156368411X ISBN 13: 9781563684111

Publisher: Gallaudet University Press, 2009

Synopsis

The Fourth Volume in the Interpreter Education Series

From the moment the World Association of Sign Language Interpreters (WASLI) was established in 2005, an overwhelming wave of requests from around the world arrived seeking information and resources for educating and training interpreters. This new collection provides those answers with an international overview on interpreter training from experts in Austria, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Fiji, Finland, Ireland, Japan, Kenya, Kosovo, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Scotland, Sweden, and the United States. Whether from income-rich or income-poor countries, the 31 contributors presented here provide insights on how sign language interpreter training has developed in each nation, and also how trainers have dealt with the difficulties that they encountered.

Many of the contributors relate the movement away from ad hoc short courses sponsored by Deaf communities. They mark the transition from the early struggles of trainers against the stigmatization of sign languages to full-time degree programs in institutions of higher education funded by their governments. Others investigate how culture, religion, politics, and legislation affect the nurturing of professional sign language interpreters, and they address the challenges of extending training opportunities nationally through the use of new technology. Together, these diverse perspectives offer a deeper understanding and comparison of interpreter training issues that could benefit the programs in every nation.

About this title

About the Author

Jemina Napier is a hearing heritage signer and is Professor and Chair of Intercultural Communication in the Department of Languages & Intercultural Studies at Heriot-Watt University, in Scotland, UK. Napier is also a practicing sign language interpreter and works between English and British Sign Language, Australian Sign Language, or International Sign.

Edition details

• Publisher: Gallaudet University Press
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 156368411X
• ISBN 13: 9781563684111
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 328