Presented at the 2023 Summit

Am I Seeing It Right, but Saying It Wrong?

0.3 CEUs, PS

Interpreting from American Sign Language into spoken English has some unique challenges; fingerspelling, classifiers and signs that are semantically rich. However, the focus of this workshop will be deaf-centric language. Research shows that uninitiated (hearing) people may share terms (mainstream, oral, hearing, and so on) but they do not attach the same meaning to those terms – thus those keywords are deaf-centric. Oftentimes, we inadvertently incorporate jargon, subject specific vocabulary, and deaf-centric terms in our interpretation, by doing so, we actually create distance between speaker and listener. This workshop will provide interpreters ways to manage deaf-centric terminology, thus helping interpreters to render a more comprehensible and meaningful interpretation. Attention will be given to techniques that aid in developing greater receptive ability. Additional topics: vocabulary/register, recognizing numbers/fingerspelling, regional sign production, and semantically rich signs.

Workshop Curriculum

  1. 1

    • Welcome
  2. 2

    • Workshop

    • Quiz

Reviews from The Summit

Average Rating

4.6/5.0The activity provided opportunities to develop skill and/or awareness.

4.6/5.0The learning materials used were effective and complimented the goals of the activity.

4.7/5.0This activity will contribute to my professional growth.

4.7/5.0The instructor interacted with the participants in a professional manner.

  • Summit Attendee

    Rich content- I will certainly interpret differently from now on! Thank you!

  • Summit Attendee

    Luv his workshop. Got me thinking about my work.

  • Summit Attendee

    This is the second workshop that I have attended by Bill Ross and I always feel as if I learn so much! Thank You

Meet Your Presenter

M.S., CI/CT

William "Bill" Ross

William F. Ross III, M.S. is currently the Vice President of Hands Up Communications, an all access language company. He is also one of the primary authors for one of the most recognized texts in the field of interpreting, You Want To Be An Interpreter? (5th Ed.) Bill is in the midst of authoring his second text addressing ethical concerns and decision making in the interpreting profession. As a child of Deaf parents, he has been an interpreter for more than 38 years and holds national certification (CI/CT) from the Registry of Interpreters of the Deaf. Previously, Bill was the Curriculum Development Specialist for Deaf Bible Society (DBS); an international organization that provides training and resources for individuals who work on Scripture translation into sign language. Prior to working at DBS, he was the Program Director of the Carlstrom Interpreter Training Program at North Central University in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Mr. Ross was the former Director of the Communication Access Support Services Department at North Carolina School for the Deaf (NCSD); where he established the NCSD Mentorship Project and Distance Learning Mentoring Program to provide ongoing support to educational and freelance interpreters.
TerpAcademy is an Approved RID CMP Sponsor for Continuing Education Activities. This Professional Studies program is offered for 0.3 CEU's at the ‘Some’ Content Knowledge Level. TerpAcademy promotes an environment of mutual respect, free of discrimination based on gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, or any other protected class.