Centuries of Standing: A History of Platform Interpreting in the UK and US
Workshop Description:
This presentation documents selected milestones in the development of platform signed language interpreting, from the late 18th to early 20th centuries, among British Sign Language (BSL) and American Sign Language (ASL) communities of practice. “Platform” is a term of art in the signed language interpreting field to indicate working with a larger audience, where signers and interpreters typically stand upon a feature that is positioned above the audience. Platform work can have signed or spoken source and target texts, in various language combinations, e.g.,
signed 🡪 spoken spoken 🡪 signed signed 🡪 signed
Archival methods, supplemented with research into personal histories, situates subjects within their lives and times. The last workshop described legal precedents for intermediaries working with deaf parties. Turning to the later practice of platform interpreting in this session broadens historical analyses away from deaf individuals toward settings more rooted in the service of signing Deaf communities. These examples given can be categorized as:
Churches Professional Community
The work of both hearing and deaf interpreters will be covered, in the UK and US; one French precursor is also included.
Workshop Objectives:
As a result of attending this workshop, participants will be able to:
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Identify milestones from 225 years of platform interpreting in the UK and US.
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Apply acritical eye when questioning why signed language interpreters are left out of histories within Deaf and Disability studies, and mainstream Translation and Interpreting studies.
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Compare historical and contemporary practices of interpreting for larger audiences at the local, national, and international levels.
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Demonstrate how to adopt sound qualitative research practices, using primary source material and balanced literature (e.g., print vs. electronic, supporting vs. countering the hypothesis).
Presenter Bio:
Anne Leahy, has been a private practice ASL–English interpreter/translator, mentor, and speaker since 1989. Her historical research seeks to understand contemporary issues in the field by tracing the legal and social pedigrees of the signed language interpreting role in both the US and UK. She holds a PhD in Translation Studies from the University of Birmingham (UK), and for several years has taken BSL lessons through a professional tutor.