Program Goal:
To have graduates who are competent entry level interpreters who analyze their own performance and recognize their own abilities and limitations. These graduates will be capable of interpreting between English and ASL, making appropriate cultural adjustments. They will be able to discuss and apply principals learned about the interpreting process, the dynamics of majority/minority intercultural interaction, professional ethics and protocol, and professional communication and team work.
Program Philosophy:
- We apply a linguistic/cultural
perspective to our studies of Deaf and hearing communities. American Sign
Language is a language and Deaf people possess a rich and unique culture.
- Bilingual and bicultural competence
is required to interpret from one language to another.
- To interpret you must first understand.
- The ultimate goal of interpretation
is to convey a message originally expressed in one language (source language)
into another language (target language) such that the interpreted message
imparts to the audience the same factual information and has the potential
for evoking the same emotional response as the original message.
- The cognitive processes involved
in interpretation are essentially the same, regardless of the source or
target languages.
- Component skills are best learned
within the context of the overall process.
- An understanding of the dynamics
of human interaction is essential for accurate interpretation.
- An understanding of professional
ethics and protocol is essential to the professional functioning of an interpreter.
- We believe that education is a dialogical process in which teachers and students learn together as they wrestle with ideas and their application. We see the teacher as an active participant in the learning process. We support the concept that theoretical understanding is born from experience. We capitalize on the students' existing knowledge and their ability to think critically to help them understand theory, ethics and their application, and other relevant issues.
