Pages: 53-72
Author: Christopher Stone
Abstract
The rendering of English to BSL within television settings provides an opportunity to identify ways in which written languages are translated into oral languages (Ong 1982, Furniss 2004). This research explores the process that Deaf and hearing translators/ interpreters (T/Is) follow when rendering English television broadcast news into British Sign Language (BSL). The distribution of blinks is compared in Deaf and hearing translators/interpreters to illuminate the role of preparation and rehearsal. Think-aloud-protocols are used to explore whether differences between the two groups point to a contrast between translation and interpretation processes. The exploration of similarities and differences between Deaf and hearing T/Is enables the identification of a Deaf translation norm, which in turn can provide guidance to hearing T/Is in approaches to translation tasks.
Keywords
Think Aloud Protocols, TAP, Orality, Norms, British Sign Language