interpreters as typists - question

[Sandy Fleming]

Ingvild,

That came as news to me, it seems very strange.

Here in the UK sign language interpreting and speech-to-text typing are
separate disciplines. As a deafened person who used speech-to-text
typists for some years until my British Sign Language was good enough to
use BSL interpreters, I've met and worked with many people from both
disciplines, but I've never met a BSL interpreter who does
speech-to-text, or a speech-to-text typist who knows anything beyond the
most basic sign language. Usually they know no sign language, though
there are those who learn some so as to be able to communicate with
those of their clients who also know sign language.

In the UK and Ireland, CACDP, the "Council for the Advancement of
Communication with Deaf People" organises courses on levels 1-4 in
British and Irish Sign Language, and once an aspiring interpreter has
achieved level 4 there's also a level 4 course in sign language
interpretation.

Alternatively, a degree course in Deaf Studies at Bristol, Lancaster and
presumably some other universities is sufficient, I think, for
qualifying as an interpreter. For example, I've worked with interpreters
who did the 3-year full-time Deaf Studies course at Bristol University
and they are excellent interpreters.

I don't exactly know how speech-to-text interpreters are trained, but
there are two systems in use in the UK, SpeedText, which is supported by
the RNID and uses special software with expansion of abbreviated words
on an ordinary laptop. Then there is Palantype, which uses its own
specialist equipment consisting of two small keypads, one for each hand.
In my experience Speedtext is more usual, presumably because it's easier
to learn and the equipment is much cheaper, but Palantype typists are
much better at keeping up with what's being said. Some Speedtext typists
are acceptable, there are others who despite years of experience are
insufferably slow.

Sandy Fleming

> 5) and to type in real time from spoken Norwegian to written
> Norwegian, either full text or a text adapted to the Norwegian
> language reading level of the persons requiring the service. This is
> mostly done during conferences, but also for lectures and sometimes
> for one person during a guided tour somewhere.
> 
> My questions are regarding the last required task:
> 
> a) is this normally a task for SL-interpreters?
> 
> b) the persons who do this real time typing, how are they trained?
> 
> As I am connected to one of the colleges giving this education, I am
> interested in answers from all over the world. We are concerned about
> this training and demand, but we need knowledge to support a change.
> 
> Sincerely,
> 
> Ingvild Roald, dr. philos
> 
> senior advisor
> Statped Vest / University College of Bergen,
> Bergen,
> Norway
> 
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