Multicultural Issues

Workshop Topic : MULTICULTURAL ISSUES


EBONICS, ASL AND INTERPRETING
John G. Lewis

This presentation will examine stylistic language variation among African American signers and discuss parallels in the communication styles between hearing and Deaf African Americans. Participants will be sensitized to the cultural and linguistic differences within the Deaf community and will learn how language variation impacts the interpreting process. Workshop includes analysis of videotaped sign language narratives and other hands-on activities.

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WORKING TOWARDS CULTURAL COMPETENCE
Jan Nishimura and Laurie Shaffer
Presented in ASL

As interpreters, we are often in situations where the culture and language of the participants are not our own. Often, the cultural and linguistic influences are so subtle that they are easily overlooked. The more understanding we are of a cultural context and its implications, the greater potential we have for developing appropriate behaviors and providing quality services. This workshop will examine ways to increase our cultural awareness and develop competencies for working with people from diverse communities. We will reflect on ourselves and on those factors that are conducive to appreciating differences. We will consider behaviors that would enable a person to work effectively with individuals from unfamiliar cultures, and explore the ways we listen, make observations and infer meaning, and incorporate that understanding into our actions and work.

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PREJUDICE REDUCTION
Ivelisse Velez

The workshop focuses on self-analysis, values clarification, and sharing within the group. The goal is to identify individual's strengths and weaknesses with regard to multicultural issues and to fully understand the multicultural Deaf issues.

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