Corona Daily 219: Hear Them Out

In several countries, the pandemic has brought to light a certain breed of interpreters. These are sign language interpreters for the deaf and people hard of hearing. They are energetic, expressive, emotional. Instead of looking at politicians or health experts, viewers may prefer watching them for enjoyment.

In the USA, 15% of adults report hearing loss. More than one million use sign language. There are five key parameters to any sign language: handshapes, palm orientation, location on the body, movement and facial expressions.

There is no single sign language, there are at least 130 of them. American sign language (ASL) is different from the Black American sign language (BASL). America started special schools for the deaf in 1817, but no Blacks were admitted there until 1952. That gave birth to a separate Black language.

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Mask wearing in the pandemic was a major blow for the deaf. Lip reading is an important part of their comprehension. Regular press briefings on TV giving life-and-death information about the virus was lost on them, filling them with confusion and panic.  

In the USA, the National Association for the deaf launched a case against the Trump administration. Trump, as is his habit, lost the federal lawsuit. The judge made it mandatory to have a live sign interpreter for any Covid briefing from the White House. Since 11 November, this was complied with.

In the UK, British Sign Language (BSL) users have complained against discrimination and launched a #WhereIsTheInterpreter twitter campaign. So far, BBC has agreed to use interpreters on news channels.

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Interpretation is a certified profession that requires a 3-year degree education. There are ‘Deaf interpreters’ and ‘hearing interpreters. They work in teams. The message can go first to the hearing interpreter, who translates it to the Deaf interpreter who takes it to the Deaf viewers. They are placed strategically so that the viewer sees only one interpreter.

The Deaf interpreter can sometimes explain concepts better than the hearing one. For example, the word ‘odd’ was translated as ‘strange’, however in the mathematics context, the Deaf interpreter gestured different numbers to show ‘odd’ numbers. In any case, a team of interpreters can work, because the job requires physical and mental stamina. Facial expressions are equivalent to intonation, revealing feelings, thoughts and moods. At the same time, they use the grammar markers (eye-gazing, eyebrows raised or lowered) to distinguish the punctuation signs. It may come across as overdramatization, but in fact it is essential to sign language.

In the pandemic, new words are emerging all the time. Interpreters are developing signs for words such as ‘outbreak’ or ‘comorbidities’ which were rarely used in the past. Interpreters have also said their exaggerated gestures should not be misinterpreted to mean the covid situation is worse than it is.

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Inspired by the sign interpreters on TV, some churches are now recruiting them during sermons. A Chicago music school that doesn’t yet allow singing is teaching its students sign language in which they can sing. Canada has developed a video app that allows emergency health services and paramedics to connect with interpreters within 30 seconds.

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Andiswa Gebashe who grew up in South Africa with a deaf father had two ambitions, to be an actor and to be the president. She has sort of managed both. She is now the official South African Sign Language (SASL) interpreter for Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa’s president. An interpreter embodies the speaker. When on stage with him, she is not Andiswa, she is the president.

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A deaf academic says the world looks at the deaf as disabled, but they look at themselves only as a linguistic minority. The pandemic has created awareness about sign languages. That is one of its positive outcomes.

Ravi