Sign Language Interpreting

The role of the interpreter within the postsecondary setting is to facilitate communication

between deaf and hearing individuals throughout the educational environment. This link

plays a major role in the success of most college students who are deaf. The interpreter’s

task typically involves listening to the spoken English message of the instructor and other

students, and then signing the message to the deaf student. However, there are times

when an interpreter must “voice” for a deaf student. Some deaf students do not have

speech that is intelligible to most listeners and yet others may have somewhat intelligible

speech but feel uncomfortable using it publicly. The deaf student may choose to express

themselves using sign language, while relying on the interpreter to translate the signed

message into spoken English.