LAMP at MO-RID American Sign Language (ASL) Workshop

On Saturday, June 7th, 2014, three representatives from LAMP (language. access. multicultural. people.) traveled to Fulton, Missouri. LAMP attended the MO-RID (Missouri Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf) annual business meeting and workshop. The event took place on the campus of William Woods University.

The workshop was centered on “Synonyms in Sign” and how one sign in American Sign Language (ASL) can have multiple synonyms. Likewise, one spoken English word can have many different signs that also vary depending on the interpreter. Margaret ‘Peggy’ Gray, Coordinator of Interpreting Services for Mercy Springfield and private practice interpreter, consultant, mentor, and workshop presenter led the workshop for many members of MO-Rid from all over the state. The day began with an explanation of the five registers in ASL and why the context of the conversation is very important in what sign or spoken word to use. The interpreters then put their signing skills to the test in a friendly game of Go-Fish. The only rule was: no speaking. The words on the cards had multiple ways to sign when interpreting them. This allowed the interpreters to think about what sign would be most appropriate to understand and also learn new signs for certain words from the other players.

The day then continued with the business meeting containing membership discussion and officer elections. LAMP is planning on becoming a member of MO-RID  to help create greater awareness  of LAMP’s efforts to effectively serve the deaf and hard of hearing community, increase our ASL health care interpreting program, and reach out to the ASL interpreter state-wide community by becoming more involved with MO-RID events. The second part of the workshop also included further discussions on synonyms and why interpreters for any language need to be aware of the context they are interpreting in and what synonyms they need to use to be as accurate as possible. The diverse group of interpreters shared their opinions and experiences as ASL interpreters. Many questions and hypothetical situations came up which were answered by Peggy Gray and discussed by the group. Then, the interpreters were asked to think of the sign they would usually use for a simple word such as “up.” They then had to read a paragraph containing the word “up” but in multiple contexts such as “warm up” and “7-Up.” The participants had to sign the paragraph and think about the many times “up” came up when they wouldn’t use their regular sign for it. To many this might be a confusing concept, but as interpreters, we must be aware of the meaning of statements rather than the literal interpretation.

One of our Sign Language Interpreters and Assistant Team Leader, David, attended this event and said, “Not only did I enhance my perception of synonyms in the English language, but I also learned how similar spoken language and sign language interpreting can be. This seminar also reinforced how important LAMP’s quality control processes are because LAMP trains and certifies its interpreters of the spoken language.”

This meeting and workshop was a very effective way to bring interpreters together and discuss a topic that could be difficult to summarize in only one day. So many spoken words and signs can have multiple synonyms, and it is the responsibility of the interpreter to determine what spoken word or sign should be used during the interpretation. We would like to thank MO-RID, the officers, and Peggy Gray for letting us join in their event. We learned many new things that will help our interpreters become more skilled and accurate in their interpretation while on assignments and to serve the deaf and hard of hearing community with the best quality service we can provide. 

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