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Signing for deaf community an exciting challenge

Adam Jacobson

Rachel Tate’s almost 20-year-long journey into sign language has landed her one of the most important jobs in the country’s pandemic response – that of a New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) interpreter during the Government’s Covid-19 briefings.

‘‘Interpreters are brought in to assist with clear communication with the deaf community, so we work in both languages – English and sign language,’’ Tate said.

Their role was to ‘‘faithfully interpret the message’’ being communicated by a speaker, all of which was bound by a code of ethics that prevented the interpreters from ‘‘behaving in certain ways’’, she said. ‘‘We’re not able to add our own spin on anything, we have to present things exactly as they are, without adding or subtracting from the message.‘‘

Having NZSL during the press briefings was all about access and equality, she said. ‘‘Providing the opportunity for deaf people to receive information in real time, at the same time that everyone else receives it, is really important.’’

Often English was the second language for many in the deaf community, so having important information presented in their primary language was the best, Tate said.

NZSL has its own grammatical structure, so interpreters were not ‘‘interpreting word for word’’, but conveyed meaning to their audience, she said. ‘‘So you will see that we are really expressive during the briefing and, probably at the beginning, it was maybe a little bit awkward for people watching.

‘‘We use our hands, we use our faces, we use body movement, we use placement – that’s the space in front of us and beside us – to get meaning across.’’

The interpreters work in pairs while on stage, with one off-screen catching any of the information the other might have missed, she said. ‘‘It requires a lot of preparation, I’m not really a very political person normally . . . but this job requires that I’m familiar with what’s going on because anything could come at you on stage, especially from the reporters. It’s really intense when you’re actually up there.’’

Being live on television was one of the most challenging aspects of the job, she said. ‘‘It’s embarrassing when I miss something, or if I don’t quite hear a reporter or, you know, somebody talks about something that I just have no idea about.

‘‘There’s a lot of aspects that make it really challenging, but at the same time, it’s exciting as well and there is a strange part of me that enjoys the adrenaline.’’

A group of deaf consultants worked alongside the interpreting team to ensure the needs of the

hearing-impaired community were met, she said. ‘‘Sometimes we just don’t really know the best way to sign something, because it’s not the first language for most of us, and so we’ve got these people that we can call upon to help.’’

As a child, Tate remembered seeing people signing and thinking it was such a ‘‘beautiful language’’. It was as an adult living in the UK that she started learning NZSL at night classes. ‘‘I just had a real love for the language and I picked it up relatively quickly and easily and from there, I fell into the interpreting world.’’

Those wanting to learn NZSL should just ‘‘go for it’’, Tate said. ‘‘We are so blessed that [the deaf community] have gifted us with their language, and it’s wonderful to have the opportunity to give back in this way.’’

National News

en-nz

2021-10-28T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-10-28T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://fairfaxmedia.pressreader.com/article/281685438056729

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