Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Gender Studies and Sexuality, 2024
Year: 2024
DOI:
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“I do feel I’m tolerated, but not accepted” – Exploring the experiences of female interpreters be(com)ing International Sign conference interpreters
Karolien Gebruers
ABSTRACT:
International Sign (IS) is “a complex multilingual translanguaging phenomenon where individuals draw upon their sign language, language and gestural repertoires to engage in communicative ‘foreigner talk’” (De Meulder, Napier & Stone, 2018, p. 10). IS typically occurs when signers, often from European countries with diverse linguistic backgrounds, meet, and it is currently used in a wide range of institutionalised settings, such as at conferences and academic courses (Kusters, 2020). IS interpreters are increasingly provided in “hearing contexts”, such as political institutions and academic conferences (Kusters, 2021). In the past, IS conference interpreters were primarily hearing white heritage signers from mainly English-speaking countries in the global North. Although the IS interpreting profession is gradually becoming more diverse, deaf and hearing interpreters of colour, and from the global South continue to be underrepresented. In this on-going PhD study, I explore how female sign language interpreters with diverse backgrounds in terms of race, sexuality, language and location experience be(com)ing IS interpreters and how these experiences shape their strategies and practices. Drawing on mind map narrative interviews and conversations, I will discuss the challenges and successes shared by 15 female interpreters, which are entangled in conversations around power, privileges and oppressions. Adopting an intersectional approach, I will highlight how female interpreters navigate a system that is heavily male, white and Europe centred and analyse their accounts through theories from Gender Studies, Critical Race Studies and Deaf Studies.
keywords: Gender; Intersectionality; Oppressions; Power; Privilege