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5.3.4 Sign language interpretersSalaried and/or freelanceInterpreters may work as salaried employees of a service provider or of aninterpreting agency. A salaried post can provide security, training and peersupport and is often the first type of work done by an interpreter, for examplewhile undergoing training. Once qualified, and having gained enough experienceand confidence, the interpreter may move into freelance work which can givemore freedom of choice and variety of assignments. In situations where there areplenty of interpreters available, salaried employment offers the benefits of asteady income and a career path both for generic interpreters and those who arepart of a specialist team. This can be seen in Finland, where previously a largenumber of interpreters worked as freelancers. However, the trend now is for moreand more interpreters to become salaried. It is estimated that the ratio ofemployed to freelance workers is 3:1. A representative of the Finnish Associationof Sign Language Interpreters has indicated that they expect the number offreelancers to “diminish a great deal in the future”.Generic and/or specialistMost interpreters work generically across a range of settings or domains. A studyof interpreters in Britain found that the most common interpreting assignmentswere in employment, medical and social services. However, some interpreters goon to specialise in one particular area of work for example interpreting in court orin the theatre. These interpreters become known for their skills in a particular area,and often work directly with the funder and/or service provider, negotiating a ratefor their services. For example, in Scotland there is an experienced BSL/EnglishInterpreter who is acknowledged by her peers as being a specialist in interpretingin legal settings. She has now set up an agency, and has contracts with most of thepolice forces in Scotland and the court service. In the past, police officers neededto use the directory of the Scottish Association of Sign Language Interpreters(SASLI) to phone round all the registered interpreters. Now they have a 'one-stopshop'. The interpreter concerned has recently begun to employ anotherinterpreter, and subcontracts the rest of the work to other freelancers.Working remotelyAnother way in which sign language interpreters are now working is in a 'remote'capacity. As this is a relatively new way of working, it is unclear as to whetherinterpreters themselves want to work at the end of a telephone line and videocamera, without face-to-face contact with their users. However, working remotelycan provide a flexible way of working for interpreters who need to be home basedor might otherwise leave the profession, for example, if travelling becomes toomuch for them. In view of the serious shortage of interpreters, it is likely thatservice providers and agencies will increasingly use and offer remote interpretingservices. However, the views of interpreters and of Deaf users should be takeninto account when planning future services. The following section, (Section 5.4.1),addresses the area of remote interpreting in more detail.page 94 • Review of Sign Language Interpretation Services and Service Requirements in Ireland
SummaryThis review of how SLI services are delivered and organised in the countriesstudied, reveals a wide range of provision:• Different kinds of organisations providing SLI services• Use of salaried and freelance interpreters• Provision of generic and specialist services• The Deaf or service provider user responsible for booking the service• Better provision in urban than rural areasThe international research output highlights the importance of planning within anational strategy yet being responsive to local need. As part of the strategy, allthe countries have recognised the need to address the shortage of interpretersand to make the best use of what is a scarce human resource, through, forexample, remote interpreting.5.4 TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS INTERNATIONALLYThere are new developments in remote sign language interpreting being pilotedinternationally, particularly through the use of:• Video-relay/Videophones 20• WebcamsThe recent rapid growth in digital technologies and access to the internet, has thepotential to benefit Deaf people in many different ways. With the advent ofrelatively cheap, online access, mainstream equipment such as mobile phones, theinternet and personal computers, Deaf and hearing people are able tocommunicate at a distance in sign language and to communicate with people whodo not use sign language.5.4.1 Remote interpreting servicesA number of pilot projects have been established to assess the effectiveness ofremote interpreting services using some of these technologies. The benefits ofsuch systems, in the face of a continued shortage of interpreters, means thatthere is considerable investment being made in this area. Remote interpretingservices can provide access to Deaf people living in rural locations, or be used inan emergency situation when there is no time for an interpreter to travel to thelocation of the Deaf person. The use of video technology allows interpreters toundertake an increased number of assignments and to undertake moreassignments of short duration. In research conducted in Britain, it was reportedthat 62% of interpreters questioned in 2000 thought that greater use oftechnology would improve the availability of interpreting services (Brien D,Brown R, Collins J. 2002).20 The distinction between videophones and video relay is that a videophone is a piece of actual hardware (similar to a traditional telephone with ascreen), and video relay is a process whereby there is a relay in the communication process via a third party (i.e. a sign language interpreter).Review of Sign Language Interpretation Services and Service Requirements in Ireland • page 95
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RESEARCH SERIESSEPTEMBER 2006Review
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4.8 Theme 6: Accreditation and a fo
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PrefaceAs proposed in the Outline S
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Key players involved in SLI service
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Interpreter staffing and skillsIt i
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INTERNATIONAL BEST PRACTICEThe rese
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appears to be growing in popularity
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• Personalised service - A person
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• The establishment of a new enti
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• Further development of the Iris
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• Estimated cost in year 1 is €
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1.3 REVIEW OBJECTIVES and SCOPE1.3.
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2 Review Methodology2.1 APPROACHFig
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Interviews and discussions• Inter
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3 Overview of CurrentSign LanguageI
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Table 3.1. Persons aged 15 to 64, w
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3.2 POLICY AND LEGISLATION3.2.1 Int
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Sustaining Progress, Social Partner
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According to the Education Act 1998
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3.4 KEY PLAYERS INVOLVED IN SLI SER
Page 44 and 45: upholding the status of Irish Sign
Page 46 and 47: 3. A Deaf user or service provider
Page 48 and 49: 3.5.3 Main reasons for accessing se
Page 50 and 51: InternetThe internet and email have
Page 52 and 53: As shown in the table above, there
Page 54 and 55: Figure 3.10. Total number of interp
Page 56 and 57: The first cohort of students on the
Page 58 and 59: Looking at the summary financial an
Page 60 and 61: 3.7.2 Overall client spend on sign
Page 62 and 63: The public sector service providers
Page 64 and 65: 4.3 THEME 1:THE NEED FOR SIGN LANGU
Page 66 and 67: subject for both Deaf and hearing s
Page 68 and 69: 4.5 THEME 3:ACCESS TO SLI SERVICES
Page 70 and 71: 4.6 THEME 4:THE QUALITY OF SLI AND
Page 72 and 73: primary client of the interpreter.
Page 74 and 75: 4.8.1 The impact of the absence of
Page 76 and 77: 4.9.3 What is neededFunding is need
Page 78 and 79: 4.10.3 A quality service on the gro
Page 80 and 81: Table 5.1. Key statistics on SLI se
Page 82 and 83: The research has considered mainstr
Page 84 and 85: Summary• Other than where the par
Page 86 and 87: 5.2.1 Linguistic approachIn all of
Page 88 and 89: Interpreting services are also prov
Page 90 and 91: 5.3.1 Population distributionMost o
Page 92 and 93: 5.3.3 Responsibility for booking in
Page 96 and 97: The use of videophones and webcams
Page 98 and 99: • It provides a flexible solution
Page 100 and 101: 5.5 QUALITY OF SLI SERVICES DEFINED
Page 102 and 103: 5.5.2 Interpreter training courses
Page 104 and 105: Pressure for the registration and r
Page 106 and 107: Proposal (which has been agreed wit
Page 108 and 109: • In most of the countries includ
Page 110 and 111: Table 5.6. Overview of key strength
Page 112 and 113: 6 Summary ofKey Findings6.1 INTRODU
Page 114 and 115: 6.3 KEY AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT IN TH
Page 116 and 117: 7 Recommended FutureModel for Deliv
Page 118 and 119: 7.2 RECOMMENDED FUTURE SLI SERVICE
Page 120 and 121: Table 7.2. Key areas for improvemen
Page 122 and 123: 7.3.2 Comhairle - oversight of SLI
Page 124 and 125: There are substantial risks associa
Page 126 and 127: Requirements:• Excellent project
Page 128 and 129: 7.3.9 ComplaintsThe Irish Sign Lang
Page 130 and 131: number of Deaf clubs. The videophon
Page 132 and 133: 7.6 OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS TO SUPPOR
Page 134 and 135: Accreditation should be linked to t
Page 136 and 137: videophone technology, piloted in t
Page 138 and 139: It is assumed that the rollout of t
Page 140 and 141: Appendix 1: Bibliographyand Referen
Page 142 and 143: www.bris.ac.uk/deaf - Bristol Centr
Page 144 and 145:
SASLISLAISLISLIANZSMSTCDVCOThe Scot
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