Workshop Title:
“Assessing sentence cohesiveness in English-to-ASL interpreting”
Workshop Description:
One of the crucial skills for interpreters is being able to assess their own performance (as well as their team). Areas of feedback are not limited to just sign production, but more importantly how the interpreter creates a cohesive sentence. What are some common pitfalls in message clarity? This session provides actionable items for assessing English-to-ASL interpreting performance — specifically focused on recurring errors on the sentence level. We will view video examples from Dawn Sign Press interpreting materials in various contexts, as well as clips of fluent Deaf signers.
Educational Objectives:
The goal is for interpreter trainers to raise awareness among interpreters about performance assessment on a sentence level instead of being focused on only assessing individual sign choices.
Educational objectives:
1) Identify at least three strategies used to distinguish elements within an ASL sentence.
2) Describe at least three strategies used to create cohesive groupings of signs within a sentence.
3) Compare the three types of labeling in English-to-ASL interpreting.
Bio:
Eric Epstein is an ASL consultant whose work has been featured in the Folger Shakespeare Library traveling exhibition and the Rail Switch journal. He has taught sign language translation through several workshops at four different colleges, various nonprofits and organizations such as BridgesTN, RIT/NTID’s Department of Access Services, Washington State’s Office of D/HH, and Minnesota’s ASL Interpreting Services (ASLIS). Eric has given intensive presentations to various RID chapters like Long Island RID and Pennsylvania RID. He has provided training on assessing sign language proficiency to a group of evaluators for the Gallaudet University ASL Proficiency Interview (ASLPI). He currently produces English-to-ASL translations, which have been commissioned by English-language poets from all over the country — such as the poet laureate of Missouri.
RID CEUs Offered: .15