Interpreted Communication with Deaf Parties under Anglo–American Common Law to 1880
Abstract:
Since sign language interpreters first aimed for professional status in the 1960s, there has never been a complete, authoritative analysis of the legal bases for the role formed centuries earlier. The common law is an ideal path to explore, as both the best-documented setting, and the birthplace of protocols that are now applied throughout interpreting practice.
Foundational texts from Deaf studies and interpreting praxis, with support from disability legal history, are combined with original legal records, case reports and newspaper accounts to trace the interpreter pedigree under Anglo–American law. The problem of perpetually-recycled secondary material is resolved through attention to primary and contemporaneous sources. An ongoing database reveals that the interpreter role developed from a legal guardian into an intermediary that communicates effectively with a signing deaf parties who act for themselves.
Facets of intercultural and communication accommodation theories, and symbolic interactionism shape the strategies of early interpreters, before educational institutions, Deaf culture or standardized signed languages were formed. Findings from this novel approach answer the main research questions:
| 1. | What was the path for interpreters prior to organized institutions for deaf people? |
| 2. | How did legal developments create the role of sign language interpreter? |
APA Citation:
Leahy, A. M. (2015). Interpreted communication with deaf parties under Anglo–American common law to 1880. (Master’s thesis). Southern Utah University, Cedar City, UT.