Becoming A Sign Language Interpreter

As part of daily life, we communicate and connect ourselves with certain communities. School, jobs, families, sports, extracurricular activities, and many other communities are just a few we come into contact with. Although these may seem to appear the same, there are specific types of communities such as a discourse community. A discourse community is a group of people involved in and communicating about a particular topic, issue, or in a particular field (Webcourses, N.d, Website) that has a share a common set of goals and attempt to achieve these goals (Swales, 1990). According to researcher and educator, John Swales, there are six characteristics that define whether or not a community is considered a discourse community. Following the criteria Swales states is necessary to be a discourse community, I did an in depth research on the American Sign Language community. Through my study, I was able to meet all six characteristics.

As well as links to local spoken languages, sign languages have elements in common with other sign languages. However, this does not necessarily mean that users of one sign language can completely understand other sign languages. As well as links to local spoken languages, sign languages have elements in common with other sign languages. However, this does not necessarily mean that users of one sign language can completely understand other sign languages.

American sign language can be a really fun language to learn. But behind the language there is an entire culture with the Deaf community. They have events, their own traditions, and most importantly, rules. What may be polite in our culture may not be in the Deaf community. That’s why I’m here to help you out with some of the do’s and don’ts in Deaf culture.

Statistics drawn from a federation of the deaf shows that there are 70 million users of the sign language in the world.

The hard of hearing or non-signer could be friends with deaf people by using American Sign Language. The deaf people, hard of hearing and hearing people interact with each other in American Sign Language. The most of the deaf people are usually comfortable communicating with hearing people and people are happy that the hearing people are attempted using American Sign Language to communicate and instead ignoring them. American Sign Language has overcome the communication barrier for hard of hearing, hearing people, infants, toddlers and elderly grandparents who could not hear. American Sign Language is a visual language, for example, the facial expression, body movements and hand gesture. The deaf people priority was in person interacting and eye contacts

Evidence has shown that Deaf people are welcoming to hearing people and provide grace and patience when it comes to new learners, such as interpreters.

2.Description of the event: A couple of weeks ago, I met with a young woman at the church coffee lab. She was sitting all by herself on one of the single round tables that have only two high chairs. Since it is my motive to talk to all people, whether I have not met them before or who I might know a little, I greeted her and asked if I could sit down and talk with her. She expressed happiness and approval and mentioned that she really appreciated me talking to her the last time we met with each other. I initiated the conversation and she said that she had a

Learning American Sign Language is a tricky skill. To really and fully learn how to use sign language, you have to learn the basics. That’s not all though, you have to learn how words end, correct grammar, and how important it is to use emotions. If one thing is incorrect, someone who is hard of hearing could get the wrong idea, so really trying to fully understand is a big key.

I aim to achieve the highest grades possible at Madonna University to be the closest to 4.0 GPA to demonstrate that I worked hard for all the classes I've taken. So that way, I'll be able to show that I truly do care about my major which is American Sign Language Education with elementary certification. The reason for that is because there are so many deaf/hard of hearing kids in United States that are neglected or being taught improperly which cause delays in their learning development. I hope to change that in a such big way that the educational system for students who are deaf or hard of hearing will be changed drastically and give them the education that they deserve. I hope to be able to learn all kind of educational knowledge and tools

Language must change. The Oxford Dictionaies are always adding words. The internet is a cauldron of word evolution and like other languages, American Sign Language has to incorporate the phrases and terms that spring from it. Dictionaries reflect the language change but the difference is that ASL doesn't have one offical

From a young age I knew I loved languages. The language of mathematics, the language of music, the language of film, and of course actual languages such as French, Latin, Greek, Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphics, and my favorites, Spanish and American Sign Language. It has always amazed me how humans developed such a complex communication that allowed them to become the advanced species we are today.

I feel describing yourself is one of the hardest topics to write about. We typically tend to be our own toughest critics. That being said I reached out to my closest friends. After they finished with their teasing answers, they finally decided that my most prominent characteristics are my honesty, the fact that I tend speak the truth no matter what, my acceptance to everyone, the “lively” presence I bring into every room I enter and last but not least, my major here at Columbia College Chicago. I’m majoring in American Sign Language-English Interpretation. While searching for schools I found Columbia to be the one with the best reputation in my field. I feel like sometimes this makes me stand out because most students aren’t even aware that this is a major offered at Columbia.

My last night in the village I went to a drum circle and dance. My health was newly restored and we were celebrating our fruitful visit. My new friend recognized me instantly as I arrived. She ran over and I placed her on my lap. We started playing paddy cake when a woman came over to us. She yanked her off my lap and onto the ground, screaming and hitting her. The woman kept telling her to “go away” and not to bother us. I was livid and kept yelling “she’s okay, let her stay”. The girl was dragged to a house far away from the event. I started to follow but

Let me set a scene for you. I’m at a party with a large group of people, most of them I’ve never met before. I’m having a good time. I’m not really interacting with people, just enjoying the vibe of the party, but then I see a pretty girl standing across the room. Sure, she has some friends with her, but none of them were guys so I don’t really think much of it. I hit my stride with as much swagger as my uncoordinated self can manage, walking as if I have all the time in the world. When I get to her, I look at her as if she is the only person around and I casually ask, “Hey, I’m doing a project for my English class and was wondering if I could interview you? I really think you would be a great addition to my paper.” No surprise, she was confused. “You don’t even know me, how would you know whether or not I would be valuable to your paper?” Without missing a beat, I reply, “Oh! I’m writing an essay on the finer things in life, and you just seem perfect for it. If you’d give me your number I would love to set something up. Maybe over dinner?”

A couple of days before Thanksgiving break, my cousin, whose name is Jae, suggested to me that there was a party a close friend of hers was throwing. I reluctantly agreed since I had to write about my experience of a party for my essay. Fast forward to the day of the party, around 7 in the afternoon, my cousin drove us to her friend’s house. What I saw really made me nervous because I am socially awkward person. If it’s a new place with new people, I tend to have sweaty hands, my heart beats fast, and sometimes I stutter badly. I digress back to the subject, in front of us was a huge gathering of people and cars parked on both sides of the street leading up to a somewhat big light blue house. Seeing this I told Jae that I didn’t know these many people would be here, otherwise, I most likely wouldn’t have gone. She assured me that it would be fine and calmed me a bit before we got out of her car and walked through the thick crowd of young adults.Then as my cousin and I entered the unusually small doorway of the house. We observed our surroundings, me trying to find a more secluded spot, and I’d assumed Jae was looking the host of this larger than a necessary house party. I stayed close to my cousin as we weaved in and out of groups of people. She was speaking to the people that she knew at the party and tried to introduce me to them, but since I’m not much of a big conversationalist, the discussions mostly just ended in a few awkward words. It left me a little embarrassed