Working to Deaf Eyes: Techniques Which Can Be Incorporated into and Reinforced in Translation and Interpretation

Presented By: Sharon Neumann Solow MA, CSC, SC:L
Date/Time: Sat. April 13th 9am-12pm MT
RID CEUs: 0.3 PS
Presentation Language: ASL

Workshop Description:

Aspects of ASL can be particularly helpful to working in and with a visual language. Application of these strategies can assist in the clarity of transliteration, interpretation, and visual communication in general. This workshop will focus on the following: use of space, modulation of verbs, pronoun usage, modulation for physical semantic features, classifiers, plurals, role shift/characterization, and transitions.

Workshop Objectives:

As a result of attending this workshop, participants will be able to:

  • explore the unique linguistic structure of ASL, and the implication of that for interpreting in a way that is effective and comfortable for Deaf people to watch and understand,
  • distinguish between ASL and spoken English structures,
  • analyze choices that make for accurate and effective interpretations both in ASL to English and English to ASL work,
  • apply effective strategies to create successful interpretations,
  • solve interpretation challenges using deliberate and conscious approaches.
Presenter Bio:

Sharon Neumann Solow works with great commitment and joy as an interpreter, trainer, performer, lecturer, author and consultant. Her career, spanning almost 60 years, has taken her around the United States, and to Canada, South America, Mexico, Europe, Scandinavia, New Zealand and Australia. She is the author of two books, Sign Language interpreting: A Basic Resource Book and Say It with Sign along with numerous professional articles and handbooks and is presently working on an exciting new book.

Her television appearances include talk shows, variety shows and documentaries and she co-stars with her husband, Larry Solow, on the Emmy award-nominated NBC knowledge series, "Say It With Sign" which still airs on PBS throughout the United States. Sharon performs as an emcee and storyteller and does theatrical translation and production work. As the female lead in "The Electric Sign Company", she and Gary Sanderson delighted audiences for over three decades. She is a working interpreter, primarily in legal, community and conference settings, with a long history of classroom interpreting and educational interpreter training and administration. She specializes in work with individuals with atypical communication, language variation, and with limited English and ASL proficiency.

Her travels and some of her conference work have involved interpreting using international gesture (a gestural, pantomimic form of communication across language barriers). Along with teaching sign language interpreters at all levels, she has been involved in the education of spoken language interpreters and interpreter educators through the Monterey Institute of International Studies. Sharon is honored to be a long standing member of efsli(The European Federation of Sign Language Interpreters). She is an active member of the RID (Registry of Interpreters of the Deaf - US) and CIT (Conference of Interpreter Trainers - US), holding the NAD (National Association of the Deaf - US) SIGN (Sign Language instructor) Comprehensive Permanent Certificate as well as the RID Specialist Certificate: Legal and was certified as a Happiness coach in 2022.

The 2016 recipient of the Outstanding Educator Award from Region V RID, the 2016 RIT/NTID Award of Appreciation as well as the 2010 joint RID – CIT Mary Stotler Award, she was honored with the 2005 Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) President’s Award and the President’s Award for 2005 from the National Association of Black Interpreters (NAOBI). She also received the 1987 national Virginia Hughes Award for outstanding contributions to the field of sign language interpreting. Sharon has lived in California on the Monterey Peninsula since 1984. She and her husband have two wonderful children and 5 delicious granddaughters. 


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