Interpreter's Corner
Lore Rosenthal Philadelphia, PA
In keeping with the theme of the issue, this
column will discuss Passover.
As with many holidays, it is a conflict for interpreters to chose between being with their family and accepting an assignment. I compromise by interpreting "second night Seders" while spending the first night with my family. Most interpreting for Passover occurs at "congregational Seders" held at a synagogue, although conceivably an interpreter could be asked to work at a Seder in a home. The United Synagogue of America published an excellent manual for synagogues, explaining ways to make deaf people feel more welcome at a community Seder. Please contact me if you want a copy.
Many Seder services are a combination of Hebrew, English, and Yiddish. It is important to get a copy of the Haggadah ahead of time, as they differ greatly.
There is much vocabulary specific to the holiday. Some concepts don't have standardized signs. Here are some examples and how I interpret them:
Charoset = APPLE+CHOP+MIX
Maror = BITTER (in context of food)
Karpas = GREEN+VEGETABLE
Zeroah = BONE (the sign for "bone" differs by community)
Pharoah = EGYPT+KING
Dayenu = THAT (*)+ ENOUGH (*) *using double motions in a song
Passover is full of familiar songs and games that have been spoken/sung for generations: Mah Nishtanah (4 questions), Chad Gadya (The Only Kid), Madrigal Of Numbers (Who Knows One), Dayenu (It would have been enough). It always makes me a little sad that the deaf community has not developed standardized forms of these traditional passages, to hand down as well.
The only exception to this that I have witnessed was Meyer Lief's rendition of Chad Gadya. Luckily, his ASL translation was videotaped a few years before he passed away. Every year when I sign this very rapid story/song, I try my best to do it the way Meyer showed me ( . . .then came the fire that burned the stick, that beat the dog, that bit the cat. . . )
Does anyone know of other people who have memorized/translated other parts of the Haggadah in ASL?
What do you think? Please feel free to contact me c/o JDCC, by fax (215) 682-9742 or via e-mail llr226@aol.com.
INTERPRETERS:
In the last issue we asked: Share your experience how you were able to interpret a Hebrew course in sign language? What is the best approach to teach deaf students Hebrew conversational course?? Are there any interpreters that is knowledgeable in Hebrew and knows Israel Sign Language???
Shalom, my name is Naomi Brunn and I am a freelance ASL interpreter living in Manhattan specializing in the interpretation of Judaic texts from Biblical Hebrew and Mishnaic Hebrew into ASL. I do not rely on English translations to interpret prayers (liturgy) but rather interpret directly from Hebrew to ASL.
While I am also fluent in Modern Hebrew/Conversational Hebrew, I am not trained as a Hebrew Language Teacher. I believe that in order to teach a foreign language, it is important to have training in the teaching of that foreign language. Complete fluency in the language is not sufficient though I believe it is mandatory that the teacher be fluent in a foreign language before they are trained to teach the language.
If a hearing educator is fluent in Modern Hebrew and has training to teach Hebrew Language then I am a strong believer in the Bi/Bi Method of Deaf Education especially in the area of language acquisition. By this I mean a team of educators, one Deaf and one Hearing who team teach using the bi/bi method.
My professional experience is that of an ASL interpreter and I have had some experience interpreting in situations where a student who is Deaf is learning Hebrew Language from a private professional Hebrew Language Tutor. Most of my experience is with adults who are Deaf so what I do is encourage a partnership between the adult student who is Deaf and the professional Hebrew language tutor. In that way, I am able to interpret in an environment where the Deaf student and the hearing tutor are working together.
For spoken conversations, or vocabulary review, I interpret whatever I hear. If the tutor speaks English then I interpret English to ASL. If the tutor speaks Hebrew then I interpret Hebrew to ASL. For fingerspelling, I use the ISL alphabet rather than the ASL alphabet. Regardless of what happens, I limit my role to that of an ASL interpreter. By that I mean that I do not become the educator, but rather continue to work as an interpreter serving as the communication bridge between the tutor and the student.
Look forward to hearing your readers' thoughts. I can be reached directly at NAOMIJB@AOL.COM
JDCC ANNOUNCES NEW PROJECTJewish Interpreter Referral NetworkATTENTION: Interpreters WantedWe receive many requests for Jewish interpreters for different occassions such as Bar/Bat Mitzvah, Wedding, Bris, etc and we would like to be able to give qualified and experienced interpreters familiar with Judaism customs with the opportunity to do these jobs. Please mark your applicable areas of speciality or interest: _____Bris _____Name Ceremony _____Sunday School _____Hebrew School (Week) _____Jewish Day Schools (Everyday) _____Bar/Bat Mitzvah _____Wedding _____Funeral _____Lecture _____Banquet _____Tour _____Holiday Service _____Do you understand/speak Hebrew _____Can you read Hebrew? _____Have you been to Israel _____When JDCC will call you when there is a request for any of the listings you marked above. NAME:_________________________________ ADDRESS:_____________________________ CITY/STATE/ZIP:_________________________ NOTE: A contribution of $36 will place you on the top "priority list". |