deafblind

Be an interpreter for deafblind people






The release of the film "Marie Heurtin" is an opportunity to focus on a specialty little known to the general public and practiced by some interpreters F / LSF, interpretation for deafblind people.
Indeed, this biopic by Jean-Pierre Améris, in addition to presenting the extraordinary life of this young girl to the nuns of Larnay, reminds us that these people both deaf and blind can communicate thanks to the language tactile signs, sign language practiced in the hollow of the hands, on the face, on the body, where the fingers of the interlocutors touch, bind and relax to form sentences, ideas, concepts ...

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[The references of the numerous publications of Sandrine Schwartz
that I used are placed at the end of this post]

In France, the number of people suffering from this rare disability, deafblindness (deafblindness), is estimated at 4,500 to 6,000 (CRESAM source). These people naturally need special accompaniments for example interpreters in tactile sign language that is to say interpreters who translate oral French or French Sign Language (LSF) into the French tactile sign language and vice versa .

In this population of deafblind people, there is a significant prevalence of people with Usher Syndrome.

For the interpreter, translating for people who are deaf-blind does not simply mean "replacing" a visual sign language (French sign language for example) with a tactile sign language (LST). This requires skills, techniques, a state of mind that must be acquired through teaching and / or by following other LST interpreters in the field.
Thus, unlike the classic sign language interpretation, which is often translated for many deaf people, as soon as one works with deafblind people, one interprets only for one person. This interpretation is generally performed sitting face to face, if possible in comfortable seats with a folder because this type of communication is physically very demanding for both the deafblind person and the interpreter.
The deafblind person places his / her hands on the hands of the person who signs in order to perceive the words of the speaker by the touch: the configuration, the orientation, the location and the movement of the signs (see the video at the end of article). It will be noted that by this method of communication, facial expressions (so important in visual sign language) are not perceptible unless the deaf-blind person has visual possibilities that allow it.

Another important difference is that the interpretation is not limited to translating a speech, a message, it implies paralinguistic (transmission of emotions, for example) and extralinguistic (description of the environment) components. The deafblind people having two senses of collecting information at a distance deficient (sight and hearing), the interpreter has for mission to be at the same time the eyes and the ears of these persons with respect to their environment.

Finally, the last difference with the traditional interpretation in sign language, the interpreter can also be led to guide deaf-blind people who have difficulty moving alone. The latter can not always move themselves between two moments of translation (to go to another meeting room, the canteen ...) or during breaks (to go to the bathroom, have coffee, smoke a cigarette ...), it is sometimes necessary to guide them from where the name of "guide-interpreter" which can surprise, this denomination questioning, according to some, its necessary duty of neutrality.


It is easy to imagine that reception in tactile mode requires significant effort to the deaf-blind person and takes longer than a visual reception of sign language.
In addition, the interpreter can not transmit all the information he perceives visually. In tactile interpretation, even if they are necessary, multidimensional information (the description of space) is often limited. Indeed, the eyes and ears are able to receive information much more complex than those that can only be received by the hands and the touch. Different codes or adaptations or modulations nevertheless allow the transmission of such information, but in much smaller quantity and quality. And above all the information must be provided in a linear fashion (one by one), which greatly limits the amount of indices that can be transmitted simultaneously to the speech.
This therefore requires the interpreter to process the available information. He must make a selection in order to relay both aspects relevant to the translation, as well as other elements that may interest the deafblind person (while maintaining his duty of neutrality and fidelity to the message of course).

The interpreter is therefore in a delicate position of having to anticipate the person's expectation and make choices, a situation that we almost never meet in classical interpretation for deaf people.
Among the many pieces of information that can be mentioned are body language, facial expressions, intonation of the voices of the speakers, some of the emotional factors that are important in the communication and that must be as much as possible relayed by the interpreter. so that the deaf person can form his own opinion of the situation and the people involved.
The interpreter must also describe the room, the environment of the meeting or the interview, identify and name if possible each participant, transmit, translate the atmosphere.

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Moreover, by its mode of operation, the interpretation for the deaf-blind induces a physical and psychological proximity much greater than that which one meets during the classic interpretation in sign language for deaf people: one touch yourself, we are inches from each other.
In addition, when using sign language in tactile mode, certain signs must be made on the body of the interpreter or the deaf-blind person. This can be tricky, especially with people you do not know.
As my colleague Sandrine Schwartz advises, "It is therefore important to negotiate the limits not to be exceeded in this area, and not to impose anything, as this could lead to a feeling of insecurity and discomfort in the situation. 'interpretation. A compromise may be the use of neutral areas of the body for certain signs normally taking place on the face, for example. In addition, there may be the problem of the view of others in this type of practice, hence the importance for the interpreter and the deaf-blind person to know what is acceptable for everyone. "
That is why this type of interpretation requires interpreters who wish to engage in this specialty to question beforehand its own limits in relation to touch.

Finally, when interpreting tactile signs in the language, it is obviously essential to have a good knowledge of how it works so that you can adapt your signs to a tactile reception, to avoid misunderstandings or confusions of meaning and adopt linguistic strategies allowing a better comprehension like the repetition of certain signs or pieces of sentences, the use of the typing (for example to give the first letter of a word before using the sign to avoid misunderstandings when the lip reading is not possible), use synonyms (we add a second sign to reinforce the meaning of the first sign to avoid confusion) ...

Given the complexity of this type of intervention, it could legitimately be expected that a minimum of training will be offered to sign language interpreters.


However, paradoxically, in France, no initial or additional training is planned, except, in some university courses, brief interventions of one day, provided by professionals from CRESAM Poitiers accompanied by deaf people with low vision or blind.
The only solution for a qualified interpreter wishing to acquire these skills, to train directly with his peers and to register for "Guide-Interpreter" courses offered by CRESAM.
However, in many European countries, such training has existed for a long time (about twenty years for Scandinavia). In Sweden, it is included in the university training program in the first year.

As a result, in France, interpreters for deafblind people all have very different profiles and skills. They can be grouped into 3 categories (typology established by Sandrine Schwartz):

    guides-interpreters, often occupying another position in structures welcoming deafblind people. They are seasoned professionals of deafblindness and different modes of communication and who have the advantage of often knowing well the people for whom they translate;
    professional sign language interpreters who have made the choice and the process of training to work with people who are deafblind, but these are still few;
    Deaf LSF / LST interpreters who can copy or rephrase the signs of a hearing interpreter (or deaf speakers) in tactile sign language.

The role of the sign language interpreter for deaf people is to be a cultural and linguistic bridge between the hearing and the deaf worlds. The interpreter who works with people who are deaf-blind aims to be the link between an individual and the totality of the world around him, since, as Helen KELLER, the famous American deafblind academic, states: Blindness keeps the person away from the things that surround him, but deafness keeps him away from people.