Introduction to Inter-Role Dialogue

I’ll be presenting this workshop at the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) Region II Conference in Fort Lauderdale, FL.

Workshop Description:

Many interpreters are familiar with the idea of intercultural or intergroup communication, which takes the identity of participants as important to meaning. This workshop extends the idea of “identity” to the different roles individuals have in any communication situation. While keeping factors of gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, religion and other cultural dimensions in mind, the frame of reference that interlocutors bring to interpreted communication based on their role in the interaction is a crucial consideration. As an example and in order to practice skills, we’ll explore the case of emergency management interpreting, where First Responders have very clear priorities that may not coincide with what Deaf and hard-of-hearing people believe they need. Likewise, Deaf and hard-of-hearing people have express communication needs that may not coincide with what First Responders believe they can accommodate. This workshop plays with the idea of an interpreter’s role zone (Lee, 2010) as a pivot point within the larger mission of response and recovery. Developing interpreter competence in shifting alignments (on the basis of the relation between interlocutor’s specific roles and the overall context) is a skill that transfers to all interpreted interactions.

Educational Objectives:

At the conclusion of the workshop, participants will be able to

1. name at least three ways of understanding role,
2. identify the context of an interpreted interaction and describe how the context shapes interlocutor role choices,
3. talk about the interplay of functional roles in a group with intercultural dynamics arising from defining role on the basis of identity,
4. describe Goffman’s concept of footing and how it is relevant to interpreted interaction, and
5. explain the grounded task of an emergency management interpreter.

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