This is the students half way quiz. Bonus points to any of you who reply with the numbers of the two trick questions, and explain why they are trick questions :)
1) What is the role (purpose) of non-manual features (NMF) in GSL? Can you give three examples of NMF.
NMF are phonemes and morphemes, and have a grammatical function in GSL. NMF add and changes meaning.
2) How can you use your knowledge of everyday language to help you as an interpreter?
It helps to understand how to produce appropriate fluent language, and helps use your internal monitor to check that you are producing appropriate fluent language (e.g. not interpreting into GSL influenced English, or into English structure influenced sign).
3) You are interpreting a meeting between the owner of a panel beating workshop and his Deaf employee. The teacher uses vocabulary that you think doesn’t have a GSL equivalent. What can you do?
Ask what should you do if … The answer is, it depends, then you need to give some options, and say which you might choose & why.
4) Give three reasons why is it useful to watch videos of Deaf people using GSL?
Most people understood this. It is useful though to think how will you watch it to achieve these things. E.g. will you look for particular NMF / grammatical features? Watch with colleague / Deaf person, then discuss what you see (and don’t see)? Use to practice interpreting, e.g. into English with good prosody / reflecting the speaker / reflecting all the NMF? Etc.
5) You are interpreting on a teacher training course. There are two Deaf people on the course. The teacher explains something, and you don’t understand what the teacher has said. What should you do?
Ask what should you do if … The answer is, it depends, then you need to give some options, and say which you might choose & why.
6) How long should your time lag be, and why is time lag important?
Time lag needs to be long enough to understand, and will vary.
7) Hesitation markers and fillers. Give an example of each in an English sentence? How can they affect what a hearing person thinks of a Deaf person?
I think, I think, my name is Darren.
Ummm, I’d like to, ummm, tell you about my experience.
Finding work is hard, like, like, we don’t have interpreters, you know.
They can make the Deaf person sound less certain and less confident than they are, if these are in the TL but not the SL.
8) What is the most important job of an interpreter? Explain why you think this.
To achieve the communication objectives of the participants. Because if this is achieved the communication was successful, even if there were other problems.
9) Write a sentence in GSL? Explain why it might be more useful to do this than write the sentence in English.
NAME d-a-r-r-e-n SIGN-NAME CURLY-HAIR
The reason you GLOSS is so that you a) have a way of writing GSL so you can remember it, and b) so if you want to write something to help you remember e.g. a presentation in GSL, you don’t use written English, which can influence you.
10) English has lots of words. Sign languages including GSL have relatively few signs. Discuss.
Some languages have lots of lexical items, e.g. English has lots & lots of words. Other languages like GSL have less lexical items (signs) but the meaning of those items can be changed though manual and NMF morphemes to mean lots of different things. This is productive morphology.
11) Should interpreters interpret word for word?
No, interpreters should look for intent and meaning. Then interpreters should look at other equivalencies (e.g. information, culture, prosody, surface form).
12) Why is it important interpreters know how to sign the National Anthem?
So that Deaf people aren’t and don’t feel excluded. It is an interpreters job to ensure that Deaf and hearing people feel included in all communication.
See blog on National Anthem for full story.
1) What is the role (purpose) of non-manual features (NMF) in GSL? Can you give three examples of NMF.
NMF are phonemes and morphemes, and have a grammatical function in GSL. NMF add and changes meaning.
2) How can you use your knowledge of everyday language to help you as an interpreter?
It helps to understand how to produce appropriate fluent language, and helps use your internal monitor to check that you are producing appropriate fluent language (e.g. not interpreting into GSL influenced English, or into English structure influenced sign).
3) You are interpreting a meeting between the owner of a panel beating workshop and his Deaf employee. The teacher uses vocabulary that you think doesn’t have a GSL equivalent. What can you do?
Ask what should you do if … The answer is, it depends, then you need to give some options, and say which you might choose & why.
4) Give three reasons why is it useful to watch videos of Deaf people using GSL?
Most people understood this. It is useful though to think how will you watch it to achieve these things. E.g. will you look for particular NMF / grammatical features? Watch with colleague / Deaf person, then discuss what you see (and don’t see)? Use to practice interpreting, e.g. into English with good prosody / reflecting the speaker / reflecting all the NMF? Etc.
5) You are interpreting on a teacher training course. There are two Deaf people on the course. The teacher explains something, and you don’t understand what the teacher has said. What should you do?
Ask what should you do if … The answer is, it depends, then you need to give some options, and say which you might choose & why.
6) How long should your time lag be, and why is time lag important?
Time lag needs to be long enough to understand, and will vary.
7) Hesitation markers and fillers. Give an example of each in an English sentence? How can they affect what a hearing person thinks of a Deaf person?
I think, I think, my name is Darren.
Ummm, I’d like to, ummm, tell you about my experience.
Finding work is hard, like, like, we don’t have interpreters, you know.
They can make the Deaf person sound less certain and less confident than they are, if these are in the TL but not the SL.
8) What is the most important job of an interpreter? Explain why you think this.
To achieve the communication objectives of the participants. Because if this is achieved the communication was successful, even if there were other problems.
9) Write a sentence in GSL? Explain why it might be more useful to do this than write the sentence in English.
NAME d-a-r-r-e-n SIGN-NAME CURLY-HAIR
The reason you GLOSS is so that you a) have a way of writing GSL so you can remember it, and b) so if you want to write something to help you remember e.g. a presentation in GSL, you don’t use written English, which can influence you.
10) English has lots of words. Sign languages including GSL have relatively few signs. Discuss.
Some languages have lots of lexical items, e.g. English has lots & lots of words. Other languages like GSL have less lexical items (signs) but the meaning of those items can be changed though manual and NMF morphemes to mean lots of different things. This is productive morphology.
11) Should interpreters interpret word for word?
No, interpreters should look for intent and meaning. Then interpreters should look at other equivalencies (e.g. information, culture, prosody, surface form).
12) Why is it important interpreters know how to sign the National Anthem?
So that Deaf people aren’t and don’t feel excluded. It is an interpreters job to ensure that Deaf and hearing people feel included in all communication.
See blog on National Anthem for full story.