Practice and review ASL concepts for work and home activities, chores, and duties
Create a mini-story about the home activities/chores you like/don't like
Read about Interpreters and what "qualified" means
Now that you're learning ASL and American Deaf Culture, undoubtedly someone will ask you if YOU ARE now qualified to interpret in business, community, or other specialized settings. The quick and definite answer is NO! Just like starting to learn any foreign language (Spanish, Russian, French, Japanese, etc.), would you try to run out and interpret between that language and English after a few weeks of classes? NO!
What about learning all of the "Baby Signing" books and videos? Still NO! "Baby signs" would be considered just vocabulary and foundational concepts. (Compare it to reading "Golden Books" and Dr. Seuss Books...learning their vocabulary and content wouldn't make you competent enough or skilled enough to interpret!)
You shouldn't be guilted into thinking that you can interpret at this stage in your learning. (You can do a lot more damage when you're non-fluent/dysfluent, but think you have more skill than you really do.) Part of learning another language, and about another culture, is recognizing your boundaries and limitations: what you know, and how much you still have left to learn!
In that case, you should contract out for qualified and professional ASL-English Interpreters:
Who have gone through extensive higher-education learning/courses (preferably a degree in ASL-English Interpretation)
Who have achieved national-level certification,
Who have verification of continued/on-going education in their interpreting career, and
Who continue solid connections and relationships with ASL-using Deaf Community members.
The Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) has published several white papers/Standard Practice Papers regarding the hiring and securing of qualified ASL-English Interpreters. The basic first paper you should read is about "Professional Sign Language Interpreting" (PDF).
Qualified and Professional ASL-English Interpreters will also adhere to a Code of Professional Conduct, which states:
Interpreters adhere to standards of confidential communication.
Interpreters possess the professional skills and knowledge required for the specific interpreting situation.
Interpreters conduct themselves in a manner appropriate to the specific interpreting situation.
Interpreters demonstrate respect for consumers.
Interpreters demonstrate respect for colleagues, interns, and students of the profession.
Interpreters maintain ethical business practices.
Interpreters engage in professional development.
Question: So who were the first (O.G.) Interpreters?
Answer: Usually immediate family members, close friends, teachers of the Deaf, and even clergy! Family members make sense because they needed to come up with ways to communicate (and support the Deaf family member in communicating with others outside of the family). Sadly, there are many times where family members can be unconsciously oppressive because they don't have time or energy to interpret/sign EVERYTHING to the Deaf family member. This usually led to the Deaf family member feeling like a stranger in his/her/their own household!
Children Of Deaf Adults (CODAs) were also some of the original "interpreters" for their parent(s). While this seems a boon for the family, imagine all of the inappropriate and unprepared situations in which children (some as young as 3-4 years old!) might be subjected to "interpret" for their parents...not knowing the situation, the people, the content. There are some horror stories where CODAs have had to tell their parent that the "doctor said you have cancer and it's all over; you have 1-2 months left". Or "someone on the phone says we haven't paid the electric bill again...they're shutting off our electrici...". Or "the teacher says I'm a good student and never gets in trouble and always helps out!" (when actually the child has been a hellion causing trouble everywhere he goes!).
Sometimes Interpreters who don't have a familial connection to the Deaf Community will call themselves a NERDA - Not Even Related to a Deaf Adult!
Question: How do I become an ASL-English Interpreter in America?
Answer: First, become fluent in ASL. And brush up on your English vocabulary, grammar, idiomatic phrases, and a wide area of topics and fields of study. Then consider enrolling in an ASL-English Interpreting Program (Community College to start with, but a B.A./B.S. or higher is required to sit for national certification tests) and regularly using ASL with native users. Keep connected to the Deaf Community you want to eventually want to serve! Attend their events, join their clubs and organizations, and also start hanging around interpreters (plus their organizations and events too!).
Ask Deaf Community members if they think you're ready to interpret. See if they'll allow you to accompany them to appointments, events, or just create situations where you have to practice interpreting (low-stakes situations where no one will get injured or die!). Maybe you can help your friend order something at a restaurant. Or you can go with them as they shop (grocery store, mall, etc.). It's important you pick situations where you're not taking away potential work from professional interpreters! (Don't offer to interpret in a school setting, K-20. Or for business meetings, club meetings, or weddings/funerals. Family gatherings/reunions are safe, though filled with impossible-to-spell extended family names and nicknames! Church meetings or services are sometimes safe places for interpreters to start off too.)
Ultimately, you can know everything about Deaf Culture, Deaf people, ASL, comparative linguistics, and even the history of Deaf people in America. But if you can't sign fluently, can't understand Deaf children through adults (of all walks of life, ethnicities, nationalities, and identities), and your English is poor, maybe interpreting is not for you. It takes language skills, mental gymnastics, flexibility, and a strong ethical/moral foundation. It also requires that you have people skills (soft skills), business acumen, and an approach that is trustworthy and genuine.
Question: Is it expensive to be an interpreter (join the field)?
Answer: To be a nationally certified interpreter in America, a BA/BS is necessary to qualify to sit for the certification test. After passing that, an interpreter would need to consider:
Marketing and Promotion costs
Professional Attire and clothing
(During COVID) Technology, Internet, Videocameras, Audio, Lighting, etc.
Automobile and Insurance
Health Insurance (self-pay)
Professional Errors and Omissions Insurance
Disability and Workers Compensation Insurance
Business License
Office and Business costs
Professional Training and Continuing Education costs (workshops, coursework, additional degrees/certifications/licenses/etc.)
Plus the other basic needs (rent/mortgage, food, utilities, cell phone bill, entertainment, etc.)
Costs add up quickly! (But it's still cheaper than the amount invested for other professions: welding, plumbing, auto maintenance, doctor, lawyer, psychologist, etc.) It depends on if you want to invest in yourself to be properly positioned as a bona fide and professional business, as a private practice interpreter, and as an ethical/upstanding hearing/sighted person who straddles the bridge between (at least!) 2 worlds, with a focus on excellence, consummate skill, savvy business practices, and a width and breadth of world knowledge!
Question: What are some qualities and characteristics of effective and qualified interpreters?
Answer: ASL-English Interpreters should definitely be fluent in both languages and willing to realize that they'll never be truly masters in any language! They're "visitors" in their 2nd (and other) languages, and allowed to share in those cultures because of their relationships to native speakers/signers.
They should also be friendly, trustworth, responsible, dependable, and flexible. They should know what they know, but most importantly "know what they don't know"! This conscious acknowledgement that there is still an infinite amount of information to stumble upon, dig into, and revel in is the sign of a life-long learner. An ASL-English Interpreter should be such!
Finally, a qualified and effective interpreter should understand boundaries—physical, mental, emotional, spiritual. Interpreters aren't there to solve everyone's problems. Nor are they there to be punching bags or victims to be blamed for people's problems.
They are there as culture and language specialists who know quite a little about everything, and a lot about just a few areas. Yet they're experts in the cultures/languages of hearing Americans (English-speaking) and signing Deaf Americans, communicating concepts that are dynamically equivalent within each language. Sometimes the ideas are approximated, sometimes they're almost exactly equivalent. It's a juggling act on a bicycle, on a high wire, and the wire is on fire!
As an interpreter, you get the luxury and privilege to go places, hear things, see things, and experience wonders you might never see in other office or mundane jobs. At the same time, you only get those luxuries and privileges BECAUSE the Deaf consumer needs access to them. You're along for the ride. Keeping your ego in check, remembering why you're really there (language, communication, understanding!), and being humble and thankful for the infinite opportunities is the amazing career called "ASL-English Interpreter"!
If you are in need of a Professional ASL-English Interpreter, please reach out to me to discuss your needs, dates/times, and specifics about the event or meeting. I can contract with you, or recommend trusted contractors with whom I typically work.
As a last resort, you can always inquire with local ASL-English Interpreter Referral Agencies too.
Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID)
NAD.org - ADA25 (25th Anniversary of the ADA, 2015)
Board of Evaluation of Interpreters (BEI, TX)