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A review by leviofmichigan
So You Want to Be an Interpreter?: An Introduction to Sign Language Interpreting by Janice H. Humphrey, Bob J. Alcorn
fast-paced
2.0
Definitely learned some things from this book, but it’s SO dated and the illustrations are embarrassing. Please, professors, find better books. Write new ones!
There’s also the big trap these older books fall into of further stigmatizing disabilities by suggesting Deaf people are not disabled. If a disabled person achieves more than what you expected of them, don’t applaud, call them inspiring, and declare that they are not disabled since they can become a doctor, run fast, or play an instrument well. Stop expecting so little of disabled people. It means not able to walk, see, hear, focus as well as others, navigate social situations as smoothly as others, etc. It doesn’t mean “unable to function in society,” as a friend once suggested. At Deaf events, it is the hearing participants who must try to keep up with the ASL. In spaces where autistic ways of seeing the world are more normalized, it is allistics who feel out of place.
I went on a version of this rant in a class forum, to a mostly positive response, but was drowned out by neoliberals proclaiming they finally see that Deaf people really aren’t disabled. The truth is, the ideas most people seem to have of disability, it’s a wonder they think anyone is disabled.
There’s also the big trap these older books fall into of further stigmatizing disabilities by suggesting Deaf people are not disabled. If a disabled person achieves more than what you expected of them, don’t applaud, call them inspiring, and declare that they are not disabled since they can become a doctor, run fast, or play an instrument well. Stop expecting so little of disabled people. It means not able to walk, see, hear, focus as well as others, navigate social situations as smoothly as others, etc. It doesn’t mean “unable to function in society,” as a friend once suggested. At Deaf events, it is the hearing participants who must try to keep up with the ASL. In spaces where autistic ways of seeing the world are more normalized, it is allistics who feel out of place.
I went on a version of this rant in a class forum, to a mostly positive response, but was drowned out by neoliberals proclaiming they finally see that Deaf people really aren’t disabled. The truth is, the ideas most people seem to have of disability, it’s a wonder they think anyone is disabled.