Signed Language Interpreting in the Workplace by Jules Dickinson

Author:Jules Dickinson
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: Gallaudet University Press
Published: 2017-03-14T16:00:00+00:00

BOUNDARIES AND ROLE

Some Deaf clients want you to be involved in their work, some want work to be private … some Deaf clients would rather you be seen as an interpreter—not a colleague. (Q22: qr22)

Many of the problems, challenges, and conflicts interpreters face in the workplace domain appear to be rooted in the lack of clarity surrounding their role, both in general terms, and within this specific setting. Not only do deaf and hearing consumers have differing perspectives of the interpreter’s role, interpreters also appear unclear as to their position in the workplace domain. In teasing out the concerns for interpreters in this setting it has been difficult to separate out the issues of role and boundaries, but I have brought the issue of role clarity to the forefront, reasoning that once the interpreter and the deaf and hearing employees have a clear understanding of the interpreter’s workplace role, it should be possible to negotiate and agree appropriate boundaries.

The issues surrounding the role of the interpreter in this setting are complex, and the data only begins to scratch the surface. One interpreter stated that “the office interpreting scenario is a real can of worms … if I behave like an interpreter should, sometimes I’m not being very helpful” (Q22: qr52). The key feature in this statement relates to the use of “should” in relation to interpreter behavior, an issue which is brought up again in Chapter 7. As the same respondent states, “interpreters have ‘fallen into’ doing office support with no real guidance as to good practice” (Q22: qr52), with the result that they are forced to fall back on their understanding of what they should be doing, derived in the main from a conduit perspective. The deeply embedded perspectives of the interpreter’s role (see Chapter 4), held by all participants in the interaction, underpin the more practical problems as to what tasks an interpreter can or cannot not undertake in the workplace domain.

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