Why You Should Become An American Sign Language Interpreter?

ASL interpreters fill a much needed role in bridging the deaf and the hearing communities. Many Americans do not understand that deaf culture is an entity that differs greatly from the hearing community, despite the two existing side by side. As an ASL interpreter, you will learn that it is more than just language that separates the two communities; deaf culture has its own customs and attitudes which are very different from that of the hearing community. Remember that as a bridge between these two communities, you'll be doing a great deal to foster understanding between two different groups of people.

There are many venues of employment open for ASL interpreters, and where a position did not previously exist, people are very often creating them. Video relay companies are prime employers of ASL interpreters; they set up a video camera that allows the deaf individual to sign to an interpreter, who then relays the communication onto a third party. There is also a market for medical interpreting, where an interpreter works almost exclusively with a hospital.

You'll also find that educational interpretation is a field on its own, with opportunities ranging from working with small children to working with university students. As an educational interpreter, you might be called upon to explain different customs to either hearing students or deaf ones, thus establishing a rapport between the two communities.

As an ASL interpreter, you will be breaking down the barriers between two communities which have grown apart. As people are becoming more educated about deaf culture and the deaf themselves, the need for interpreters is very strong and still rising. More and more companies are hiring ASL interpreters in order to provide excellent service to their customer base. When you become an ASL interpreter, you are becoming a part of a cultural exchange that will eventually benefit everyone.

There are many programs that will aid you in getting certified as an ASL interpreter. One that you might want to take a look at can be found at http://www.squidoo.com/learnamericansignlanguage/ Take a look at their free trial and find out how you can become an ASL interpreter.

Experience, experience, experience

Everyone ends up getting their foot in the door somehow, even if it is just pumping gas. With a few precisely chosen words, pumping gas becomes customer service extraordinaire. But how do you get your foot in the door of the translation business when no matter what words you choose pumping gas can never we morphed into interpretation and translation extraordinaire.

The answer is not a simple one, and for the purposes of this article, I will assume that the applicant is a good translator with all their qualifications in order, so where next? Networking is the best way to get your name and credentials in front of the people that matter. If there is a particular language you speak, also network with these people, you never know when they may call on your services.

The more you use your skills in all situations the more likely you are to reach someone that matters, you never know who’s brother, cousin or uncle may hear about you.

But perhaps the best, but most difficult thing to do for a budding translator is create a real-life success story. I don’t mean fabricate one, but instead put yourself in a situation where you can help with dispute resolution or some other interpretation task and try your best to make sure everyone knows about it, a bit of shameless self promotion never hurt anyone.

In the real world, you are your biggest champion, and if you don’t back yourself, then no one else will.

A Fair Trial

As this world becomes more culturally diverse and languages and cultures begin to live side by side the chance for miscommunication becomes much greater, but one place this simply isn’t acceptable is in the legal system.

Because the figures aren’t as readily available for the US I will refer to current trends in the UK to show the impact the cultural diversity is having on the legal system.

In 2006 the UK National Police spent £13.5million on translation and interpretation services, but by the end of 2008, that figure was £22million per year, that is nearly twice as much spent on the same service in a four year period. The 2009 figures show that the London Metropolitan Police alone have spent £10.6million on translation. But this is just the Police, how many of these cases make it to the courtrooms where this process begins all over again. A police interpreter may spend a day with an offender, where as the court system has this same offender for a week, or even more.

When you have ridiculous cases like that of Amy Winehouse’s 1997 drug-possession arrest in Norway, where her attorney argued that because the fluent English speaking police officer was not a qualified interpreter she did not receive fair counsel. There is any wonder the legal system is getting tough on getting interpretation right.

If that extra £9.5million spent on translation has put even one dangerous criminal behind bars, then it is money well spent.

Copenhagen Summit on Climate Change… for Mayors

I think the less talked about Mayoral summit is perhaps where it is at as far as getting things done. I apologise for the cliché, but behind every great man there is a great woman and that woman is probably nagging him everyday to get things done. If we think of the women as mayors then someone like Obama has over 8000 wives nagging him either directly, through senators or heads of states. This is one hen pecked man and that is just on a good day.

In a round about way I am actually getting to the translation and interpretation of the mayoral summit, or should I say, lack of translation and interpretation. I would shocked to read that The City of Copenhagen will not be providing interpretation services and if a delegate doesn’t speak the assigned language of English then they are required to provide their own interpreter as part of their delegation.

Now I know that the mayoral summit is perhaps the poor second cousin to the UN summit, but I think the opportunities at this summit are equally important. These are the people charges with creating change for their city and to do that they need the support of their country. If their country does the right thing then they come up smelling of roses.

Surely The City of Copenhagen could provide interpreters at this summit, they have already spend a few million making it happen, what is another few hundred thousand to ensure everyone is hearing the same version of events at the same time.

Preparing for Foreign Markets Online

A burgeoning business, translating for websites for localized foreign markets online, is something many companies take for granted. Professionalism extends beyond converting words via simple software applications. Sure there may be some translation software available to convert i.e. English to Cantonese however the accuracy of the translation goes beyond the written word for word text. What context is the wording being used? Is there slang integrated into the text? Are cultural miscues being made without knowing? Software programs may not catch any of these translating flaws which are why there needs to be a human element involved and preferably someone who understands local formalities and business practices in general.

Of course it's important to prepare for success in your new markets. In order for you to keep your potential new customers coming back or getting them to refer others you must be sure your entire sales and service package is localized. This means customer service personnel available to deal with any problems at the local level. Do they speak the same language? Are they familiar with local business policies and cultural differences for something as simple as a refund? These are important issues to understand when opening up new businesses in foreign markets.

Expanding your business into foreign markets is a great way to increase revenue, find new partners and network globally. If you follow the basics of marketing which include keeping the customer utmost in mind and making sure that your service is unimpeachable is a great start. It's probably more important to focus on the customer in foreign local markets than domestic because of the number of difference you will encounter that never surface in your home market. Your website is your storefront. If it was on a street in Beijing you would want to make sure your company name and sales message was clearly defined and that any walk in traffic knew before they came through your doors just what it is you do. A competent translation services company can do this for you before you make the foreign market plunge.