Demand/Control Report #1

I went to Mia Loves town hall meeting with the Deaf community at the Sanderson
Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing on September 9. There were two interpreters, a dozen
or so hearing audience members, and about that many Deaf attendees. She did not have a stump
speech prepared or a specific list of points to hit, but instead opened the floor to questions
immediately after the introductions.
Environmental Demands
There were a few pretty severe environmental demands on the interpreters. Probably the
worst one, and the only demand that the interpreters mentioned as bothering them when I asked
after the presentation, was the incredibly noisy fan rattling away throughout the event. Even for
me in the audience it added strain to hearing and understanding Mia Love and those asking
questions. Placing the voice to sign interpreter right next to Mia Love, while probably primarily
a control for ensuring visibility, put the interpreter straining to hear closer to the most talkative
person in the room and, along with the microphones, no doubt cut down on the need for
repetition or clarification. When audience members spoke and were not heard the interpreters
definitely would ask for the questioner to repeat or clarify. I agree with all these control choices
in response to the noisiness of the environment as I cant imagine a more unobtrusive approach
that still gets the full message across. Another environmental demand was the set-up of the
lecture hall, the spread of people and the interpreters need to be visible to everyone and
potentially have everyone visible to them. The signing interpreter sat next to Love on the stage
while the voicing/copy-signing interpreter was on the first row. This maximized visibility of the
voice-to-sign interpreter and left the off-stage interpreter free to see people signing in the
audience without being obtrusive. Other environmental demands included the topics under
discussion, primarily Deafness and the law and Deafness and employability as well as political
issues.
Interpersonal Demands
I dont think there was too terribly much in the way of interpersonal demands. I can
think of one gentleman who asked a number of questions who may have grated on one or two
people in attendance, perhaps including one or both of the interpreters. They didnt let it show if
they were bothered though and I dont think theres really any other route they could have gone.
Mediating/Interpreting Loves interactions with the audience may have been made more difficult
by her general ignorance about the Deaf community and Deaf values, but Dawn and the guy
interpreter were professionals and straight-up interpreted, though I may have seen a frustrated
head shake or lip purse - I cant think of any other way to do it honestly.
Paralinguistic Demands
Paralinguistic demands were another area where a number of challenges presented
themselves. One or two of the people asking questions in spoken English had thick cochlear
implant accents or spoke more softly than they needed to to be well heard. In cases where the
interpreters couldnt make out what someone was saying they simply asked the person to repeat
themselves and/or to speak up. I think this choice makes the most sense in terms of making sure
the message gets across. More liberal choices, such as getting up close or instructing the whole
audience to be sure to speak up insert too much of the interpreter and would be distracting while
more conservative choices, such as winging it or guessing, would probably not result in a
faithfully rendered interpretation.
Intrapersonal Demands
I cant peek inside either of the interpreters brains, but I can think of a few intrapersonal
demands that I faced even as an audience member. For one, I wholeheartedly disagreed with
several of Mia Loves talking points and when they went unchallenged it lit an angry fire in me.
I had always thought that remaining neutral would probably be one of my strong suits as an
interpreter but being at that town hall meeting gave me some new and disappointing self
knowledge - the knowledge that when I disagree strongly enough with something I will shake
and tremble and scoff. Im sure this condition isnt permanent though, removing myself from an
interpretation will no doubt come with practice moderating my feelings and reactions while
interpreting. I think the interpreters shared this intrapersonal demand. I didnt see so much as an
iota of discomfort or disagreement on one interpreters face, but the other may have let out a
muffled scoff and eye roll or two. I dont know if that was their control for the intrapersonal
demands being placed on them but if I were to interpret something like this in the future I might
have to let a scoff off in private at some point or Id probably figuratively literally explode.