Time to Interpret

Time to Interpret

One of  Interpreter Dale Bohns "Rules of Interpreting" Photo Courtesy of Crystal Nichols
Taken in Hawaii at the RID Conference (me)  

So you want to be an Interpreter? Coincidentally one of the first books you will use as an Interpreter. At this point you have either decided you love sign language and the Deaf community and you want to become a certified ASL Interpreter, or you are just reading to learn more. I hope you have read the other two posts because we are just going to get right to it. Hopefully you have started to learn some sign language by now and are interested in the wonderful world of Interpreting, it truly is incredible. There are so many choices and places of learning that you can go to learn about Interpreting that I would like to focus on Utah and maybe later on I will branch out to other states and countries.

Salt Lake Community College, has one of the best Interpreting programs in Utah and it has expanded. It is called the ITP, Interpreter Training Program. I have completed one of the programs and will post items from my learning there but for the most part I would like to focus on what there is out there for Interpreters in training. Along with SLCC there is also the Davis Applied Technology College DATC, Utah Valley University UVU, and Sorenson’s VRSI  the programs compete with one another for students but the result from them is the same a Degree or equivalent in Interpreting. The choice is really yours and what you are most comfortable with. However a degree DOES NOT make you a certified Interpreter. “Upon successful completion of the ASL/English Interpreter Education Program, students must apply for, and pass, state or national interpreting certification exams to work as an interpreter.” http://www.slcc.edu/asl/ You must become certified through the state, or through RID the national certification testing service.

But we are getting a little ahead, once you have picked a program you are comfortable with you can enroll in classes and start your way to a degree or just start the Interpreter Training process.  There are a few books you can start reading to get more acquainted with the world of Interpreting and all that it has to offer. First I recommend, So You Want to Be an Interpreter? An Introduction to Sign Language Interpreting by Janice H. Humphrey and Bob J. Alcorn, second When the Mind Hears A history of the Deaf by Harlan Lane and third Inside Deaf Culture by Carol Padden and Tom Humphries. The three books listed are introductory books into Interpreting and are usually required for your classes.  Classes will be hard and time consuming but in the end you will come out with a better understanding about ASL Interpreting and Deaf culture.

Photo from Amazon.com

Photo from Amazon.com  

Photo from Amazon.com