Reading Between the Signs: Intercultural Communication for Sign Language Interpreters » (2nd Edition)

Anna Mindess has worked as a sign language interpreter in business, legal, educational, medical, video relay and performing arts settings for more than twenty-five years. A noted author, consultant and trainer, she has presented workshops on cultural issues in the U.S. and internationally. She is the author of Reading Between the Signs Workbook and co-creator of the DVD See What I Mean.

In Reading Between the Signs: Intercultural Communication for Sign Language Interpreters, Anna Mindess provides a new perspective on a unique culture that is not widely understood-American Deaf culture. With the collaboration of three distinguished deaf consultants, Mindess explores the implications of cultural differences at the intersection of the deaf and hearing worlds. The book takes a practical approach with many useful suggestions for the sign language interpreter. Mindess provides several helpful dialogues between hearing and deaf Americans in a variety of situations to illustrate the problems that can arise as a result of cultural differences.The compounded difficulty of communicating with a deaf person from another country is addressed as well, with suggestions for ameliorating possible areas of misunderstanding. It also provides helpful information about advances in technology and the multicultural communities within the Deaf world. Reading Between the Signs is an invaluable tool for those interested in training as a sign language interpreter, but further, for anyone wishing to understand American Deaf culture..A dazzling application of the tools of intercultural communication to illuminating Deaf and hearing cultures and their differences.. This is a book for everyone interested in Deaf culture.
—Harlan Lane, author of When the Mind Hears and The Mask of Benevolence

Adds a necessary dimension to understanding what sign language interpretation really entails-not the exchange of words for signs and vice versa but the translation of one view of life and all its meanings into another equally valid yet different view
—William C. Stokoe, Former Professor Emeritus, Gallaudet University

BRAVO! The book is outstanding—well written, informative, and desperately needed in our field!.
—Jan Humphrey, Ed. D. Certified Interpreter, Interpreter Educator and Author of So You Want to Be an Interpreter?

A must-read! An enlightening book. a defining document in the literature of Deaf culture.
—Eileen Forestal, Professor, ASL Studies and Interpreting Training, Union County College

Contents
Foreword by Sharon Neumann Solow
Preface
Acknowledgments
Part One: Background
1 Introduction
2 The Study of Culture
3 Selected Topics in Intercultural Communication
4 Do Americans Really Have a Culture?
5 American Deaf Culture
6 Multicultural Deaf Culture
7 Culture, Change, and Technology

Part Two: Practical Applications
8 The Impact of Cultural Differences on Interpreting Situations
9 Multicultural Interpreting Challenges
10 The Interpreter's Role and Responsibilities
11 Techniques for Cultural Adjustments
12 Interpreting in a Virtual World
13 Cultural Sensitivity Shouldn't End at Five O'Clock
Afterword by Dr. Thomas K. Holcomb
Bibliography
About the Author and Contributors
Index

Library Journal

Mindess's first book helps the professional sign language interpreter provide more effective service through an understanding of deaf culture and cross-cultural communication. Mindess, herself a veteran interpreter, introduces the main concepts of intercultural communication in the first half of her work, drawing on examples from anthropology, linguistics, and related fields. She highlights differences between hearing culture and deaf culture in America that can compromise clarity in translation situations. Finally, Mindess explores the responsibilities of translators and their primary role as mediators, recognizing that American Sign Language (ASL) translators raised outside deaf culture must learn its nuances to maintain professional quality. In comparison, Melanie Metzger's more research-oriented Sign Language Interpreting: Deconstructing the Myth of Neutrality (Gallaudet Univ., 1999) reveals how interpreters influence a translation interaction. Although less academic in nature, Mindess's book is a better resource for the interpreter and is recommended for large public libraries and appropriate educational and professional settings.--Andy Wickens, Univ. of Illinois-Chicago Lib. of the Health Sciences Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.