Are American Sign Language Interpreters professionals or paraprofessionals?
455039
Professionals!  Most places require a degree and certification.  Interpreters have a huge responsibility to their clients and can be held responsible for information interpreted wrongly or information that is left out.  Educational Interpreters should also be certified but many schools will hire uncertified interpreters.  This is detrimental to both the student and the educator.
6255
Absolutely Helpful - especially for those who are hearing impaired and people who care enough about the hearing impaired people in their lives to facilitate communication with them.  \n\nIn or Out?  Well, for those who rely upon it, that's not even a question really.  Sign-language is a necessity for many.  \n\nHOWEVER......\n\n"IN!" Would surely be the answer in many circle of new parents!   A LOT of people who have babies are using sign-language to be able to communicate with their lil ones long before the babies can begin to speak!  Baby Signs is the program I've heard most about (from the Ovusoft Forums); however, there are several programs available to teach your baby to sign (and, you will suddenly be "Sooooo IN" by the crowd who does that!  ;)
558401
Contrary to some people's beliefs, sign language is not a universal language. Every country has its own sign language, just as it has its own spoken language. In the US, there are 2 primary languages - American Sign Language (ASL), and Signed Exact English (SEE). ASL uses gestures and does not focus on grammar in the same way that one would see in a book. For example (it's hard to describe a visual language in words) if you were talking about your car, one would sign: "my car, blue, 4 doors I drive to store. leave car, go inside." Spoken, it would sound more like, "I drove my blue, 4-door car to the store. I got out of my car and went inside." The focus is on conveying the message, and using a lot of helping words (the, a, an, etc.) is unnecessary and slows the conversation. Despite some of the differences, there is a syntax and grammar of its own used and ASL has been classified to be an independent language in the same way as English, German, or French. SEE uses syntax and grammar to the same degree as spoken English, and follows all the same rules. It also uses somewhat different signs from ASL, despite the similar background. For example, in ASL, there is a sign for "carpet" (meaning "rug"). In SEE, this is a compound word which is very literal in nature. "carpet" is signed in SEE as "car" (like the one you drive) followed immediately by the sign for "pet" (as in, to pet your dog). Just as we have verbal ironies or jokes/puns in Enlish, there are similar types of plays on words (signs) in sign language. Both languages also use the same signs for the alphabet. SEE was introduced during a period where people thought all Deaf people should learn to speak English and needed to learn to read lips. Most Deaf people today speak Pidgin Sign Language, which is essentially a combination or middle ground of ASL and SEE. Within the Deaf community, some people speak primarily SEE, while some speak only ASL. A large percentage of Deaf schools today teach ASL, as it is viewed by many in the Deaf community as a more pure sign language. \nThere is also a college for Deaf people, where all classes are taught in sign language. It is Gallaudet University, named after the father of modern-day sign language.
419532
Some community colleges can certify you become an interpreter for the Deaf in two years.  There are also 4-year programs that can give you a Bachelor's in Interpreting.  You will also need to pass a sign skills test.
1067182
There are several good programs across the country.\n     Gallaudet is great, but they only offer admission to hearing students for the MA degree by recommendation. Getting in as a hearing undergraduate is almost impossible, and not easy with a 99% deaf undergraduate population, (they aren't always super friendly to hearing students). \n   CSUN has a large deaf population (about 250-300 students) and a solid interpreting program. You also can get a BA in Deaf Studies there. \n    There is a school in Minnesota, St. Cathryn's (sp) that offers a degree in Interpreting, they specialize in medical interpreting.\n  Really, there are tons of good programs, but it just depends on how much you put into it. The best way for you to become a good ASL interpreter is to, along with an ITP, socialize with deaf people! You need to be as fluent in English and ASL as possible  before and as you start interpreting. Good luck!
64324
Yesssss. they are professional here, but how do you know who is who?  This site is new and still experimental, and I know of no others who have professionals answering questions to the public.\nBut some think that I am just an uneducated dumb old fart so what does this answer matter.
975328
Hello.  Yes I went to college and did my NVQ1 and 2 in BSL, hoping that it would enhance my abilities with the Autistic and challenged kids I work with.  Yes it did, but in the real world I have used it twice in 5 years!  Once to help a deaf passenger order a sandwich on a ferry and another to help a deaf lady ask if a cabinet came in a different colour!  Try at the local council offices and also the court house as they often require translators.  Failing that, Look on the net for Deaf Meeting clubs as they always know of jobs for hearing BSL experts.\n\nGood Luck!
133441
Congregationalist minister and deaf educator Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet is credited with popularizing the signing technique in North America.\n\nGallaudet (for whom the school is named), went to Paris to study sign language at the Abbé de l'Épée school. He convinced educator Laurent Clerc to return to the US with him, and together they founded the American Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb in Hartford, Connecticut in 1817.
1061694
http://www.signlanguagecenter.com/  or you can do a google search for ASL classes in NYC
757360
Legal Aid Professional?\n\nLegal Aid Provided?\n\nNever saw that acronym, just guessing here.
139538
compalin to the landlord, police, or any other authority you can think of. They might not understand English, but sign language is universal.
1092711
Are you certified to work as an interpreter? Call the courthouse, or look in the yellow pages...
920589
A sign language (also signed language) is a language which uses manual communication instead of sound to convey meaning - simultaneously combining handshapes, orientation and movement of the hands, arms or body, and facial expressions to express fluidly a speaker's thoughts. Sign languages commonly develop in deaf communities, which can include interpreters and friends and families of deaf people as well as people who are deaf or hard of hearing themselves. They are also used by people with speech impairments such as Aphasia.\n\nWhen people using different signed languages meet, communication is significantly easier than when people of different spoken languages meet. Sign language, in this respect, gives access to an international deaf community.\n\nHowever, contrary to popular belief, sign language is not universal. Wherever communities of deaf people exist, sign languages develop, but as with spoken languages, these vary from region to region. They are not based on the spoken language in the country of origin; in fact their complex spatial grammars are markedly different. However, various signed "modes" of spoken languages have been developed, such as Signed English and Warlpiri Sign Language. Hundreds of sign languages are in use around the world and are at the core of local Deaf cultures. Some sign languages have obtained some form of legal recognition, while others have no status at all.
354434
Yes, each country has their own sign language.  In America it is called ASL, and it is actually closer to French sign language than to British sign language.  And the alphabet is different in different countries, for example, the ASL sign for "t" is the same as flicking someone off in British sign language.\n\nI saw one figure that said that there are 114 known sign languages\ncheck out this site: http://faculty.valencia.cc.fl.us/arasmussen/General_Info/glossing_module_writing_unwritten.htm\n\nPoint is, no, it is not a universal language.
826530
I want to know more about Deaf history!! I have read several books, but I always want to know more. I'd like to see more research done on how ASL has changed over the years. For example, there was a video made by NAD long ago and it has been preserved on DVD now. I want to see MORE of that, with research into how the signs have changed over time. \n\nI also want to learn other signed languages. I use ASL, but I want to learn LSQ and FSL -- or any other that I could learn!
81651
no, there are several different language signs. different countries have different signs. hear in america most use ASL which is actually closer to french signs than english, but there are still many, many differences between each of them. sign language developed differently in each area, just like the languages we speak.
1073166
Only if they can hear. There different degrees of deafness. Some can hear a little to not being able to hear at all. Some were born that way while other happen over time.\n\nThe same is true with dreams of a deaf person they do not dream voices the dream in sign.\n\nThey have a complex language that takes usually 8 years to master. The same area in the brain that is used for spoken language is also used in sign. \n\nHere are some links to help you better understand ASL American Sign Language.