One of the most common unhealthy bio-mechanical factor I see with interpreters is the excessive use of force in their interpreting. Too much force creates a tremendous stress on the muscles and tendons, and is a common contributor to interpreting-related injury. There is a time and place for the use of forceful signing. If I am interpreting for two people who are screaming at each other - I will probably employ some force in my interpretation. The problem arises when forceful signing ceases to be a tool used in the interpretation, and becomes an interpreters default work style. I do, however, believe that force is overly used as a go-to for conveying certain types of information when interpreting - such as tone, inflection and grammatical nuances. Many times there are other non-manual markers and strategies to convey this type of information even more effectively than the use of force. Start thinking about (and observing with other interpreters and Deaf people) other ways to interpret things like irritation, conviction, emphasis, etc. that does NOT include the use of force.
Posted on: Sat, 02 Aug 2014 11:19:02 +0000
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