An Activity in the Interpreting Skills Series
As of 2022, the Interpreting Skills Series was a 19-credit-hour, four-course series covering interpreting skills and theory in the ASL-English Interpretation BA program at the University of Northern Colorado.
The Interpreting Skills Series acknowledged that interpreting from ASL into spoken English is a central competency in professional interpreting practice. As such, the development of voice interpreting occurred across the Interpreting Skills Series. While students engaged in both directions of interpretation throughout the series, the curriculum intentionally developed ASL-to-English interpreting as a specialized skill that required discourse analysis, linguistic restructuring, and audience-responsive delivery.
Overview
Within the Interpreting Skills Series, ASL-to-English interpreting was approached as a meaning-based process, recognizing that this was frequently a developing area for interpreting students. Students learned to analyze discourse features of ASL - including narrative structure, depiction, constructed action, and sociolinguistic variations - and generated spoken interpretations that accurately conveyed intent, tone, and pragmatic meaning for hearing consumers.
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Voice interpreting is the primary focus on Interpreting Skills & Theory III.
Feedback from graduates indicated they felt more instruction in this area was needed. For sign language interpreters, voicing can be more challenging than signing, as it requires translating visual and discourse-rich ASL into structured, audience-responsive spoken English. Interpreters have spent years developing their ASL production, with less emphasis on working from ASL to English.
Learning Objectives
Across the Interpreting Skills Series (INTR 245-445), students;
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Analyzed discourse features of ASL that impacted interpretation into spoken English.
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Identified how meaning was constructed through narrative, depiction, and sociolinguistic variations.
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Applied discourse analysis to inform interpreting decisions.
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Produced spoken English interpretations that reflected meaning, tone, and intent.
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Evaluated interpreting performance through structured self-assessment and analysis.
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Revised interpretations based on feedback to support intentional skill development.
Insights
Across the Interpreting Skills Series,
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Voicing was a meaning-based, not form-based, interpreting process.
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Effective voicing required linguistic restructuring, not direct transfer.
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Discourse analysis was foundational to accurate ASL-to-English interpretation.
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Interpretations attended to the audience, context, and purpose in spoken output.
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Growth in voicing developed over time through analysis, practice, reflection, and revision.
Students often strengthened their voicing by shifting from literal to meaning-based interpretations.
Materials
In Interpreting Skills & Theory III (INTR 355),
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Materials forthcoming!
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Activities & Assignments
In Interpreting Skills & Theory III (INTR 355), activities and assignments that supported the development of ASL-to-English interpreting included:
Discourse Analysis Assignments
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Examined interpreted scenarios to identify how meaning was constructed and conveyed.
Communication Assessments
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Analyzed Deaf and Hard of Hearing consumers' language use to inform interpreting decisions.
Interpreting Performance Analyses
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Analyzed interpretations produced by experienced interpreters to identify effective strategies.
ASL-to-English Interpreting Assignments
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Engaged in structured preparation, performance, and self-assessment.
Revised Interpretation Assignment
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Applied feedback to revise interpretations and demonstrate growth over time.