Deaf Voice and the Invention of Community Interpreting

This article poses the existence of a relational model of interpreting that is already rooted in culturally Deaf ways of using evolved interpreters for intercultural communication. Deaf criticism of professional interpreters directs attention to the history of simultaneous interpretation and its origins at the Nuremberg trials. The birth of professional spoken language simultaneous interpretation occurred as a result of new technology used in a new situation. In that setting, the role space of the interpreter was created and confined within a language regime based on unquestioned and therefore non-negotiable values. The Deaf voice has been raised in protest against some of the restrictions of this model for half a century. During this time, sign language interpreters and practitioner-researchers have been watching and learning. Finally, recent theoretical concepts have begun to shape the framework of an alternative paradigm