Major: Sign Language Interpretation
Actress Marlee Matlin was only twenty-one when she won an Academy Award for her role in the 1986 movie Children of a Lesser God. The achievement is even more amazing when you consider the fact that Matlin is almost completely deaf. Since winning the award, Matlin's kept busy acting in film and TV roles, writing novels, and raising children.
Interpreting students learn how to help Deaf and hearing people communicate with each other so that Deaf people can participate fully in society.
If you major in sign language interpretation, you’ll prepare for work as an interpreter of American Sign Language (ASL).
Did You Know?
- There's a shortage of qualified interpreters for the Deaf.
Are You Ready To...?
- Practice ASL every chance you get
- Join a campus club for students in your major
- Volunteer at off-campus organizations for people with hearing difficulties
- Take part in hands-on learning activities such as field trips and internships
- Take classes with language labs
- Learn about Deaf culture
It Helps to Be...
Fascinated by non-spoken language and communication that uses the whole body. You'll need discipline to achieve fluency in ASL and quick-thinking to interpret in real time. If you’re excited by the idea of bridging the gap between Deaf and hearing people, this could be the major for you.
College Checklist
- What are the admission requirements?
- Does the program have professors who are practicing interpreters?
- Is there a language lab?
- What practicums (internships) and other hands-on learning opportunities does the program offer?
- Does the program invite visitors from the Deaf community?
- Are there opportunities for interpreting students to interact with Deaf students?
- Does the program offer job-placement help to grads?
- What are recent grads doing now?
Did You Know?
- The composer Ludwig van Beethoven gradually lost his hearing between the ages of twenty-eight and forty-nine. He continued to write music even after he had gone completely deaf.
Course Spotlight
As a student of sign language interpretation, you’ll probably take a course on transliteration. To understand what this is, keep in mind that Deaf people communicate both in ASL and in English.
ASL, like a foreign language, has its own grammar and vocabulary. When ASL is being used, the interpreter needs to change the signs into English. That's called interpretation. But when a Deaf person is mouthing or “fingerspelling” in English, the interpreter needs to stick to the person's exact words. That's transliteration. In conversation, Deaf people may switch back and forth between English and ASL.
