5.2 Qualitative and quantitative experiments
5.2.1 Qualitative pilot study: quality assessment
As we will see in the following chapter, there are many factors involved in determining the quality and the success, or lack thereof, of sign language interpreting.
Before reuniting all the different factors analyzed so far, in a somewhat simplified evaluation grid, I decided to analyze together with a bilingual (fluent in both Mandarin and TSL) participant, who prefers to remain anonymous and whom I will refer to as Mark, an interpreted speech into TSL, to address the issue of quality
from the perspective of the user (Deaf33 evaluator).
The interpreted speech is a question and answer (QandA) session taken from the Taiwan Presidential Election debate (臺灣總統大選辯論). Together with my deaf participant, I aimed at analyzing the simultaneous interpretation into TSL which was provided live during the debate.
First of all, I would like to underline the reason for which I chose this type of speech and not, for example, TV news which also happen to have TSL interpretation.
The reason is simple yet fundamental for any further discussion on the topic.
There are different types of simultaneous interpretation, both in oral and in signed languages, amongst which we have interpretation with or without script.
What happens with TV news interpreting is that the sign language interpreter has either previously read or prepared the news s/he is going to interpret or do it with a script, just like the anchor. This does not happen at the presidential election debate where everything happens on the spot, live, with no previous preparation, notwithstanding the sign language required previous knowledge, which goes without saying. It is more interesting to see the strategies that the interpreter uses to cope with possible difficulties that might come up during the interpretation task.
I divided the analysis into three steps. First, I carried out an overall analysis of the interpretation. Secondly, I recruited a native signer to help me with a more detailed analysis of the TSL part, and finally I recruited a hearing sign language interpreter who, in turn, provided me with some overall comments. Both participants were duly paid for their participation in this analysis.
The most interesting aspect emerging from this study is that the direct target of
33 The informant is fluent in Chinese thanks to hearing aids. However, his native language is TSL.
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TSL interpreting, that is to say the Deaf community is not always able to benefit from it, the way they should and could, for various reasons that will be discussed later. To the contrary, hearing TSL interpreters seem to have a more thorough understanding of the message, both because they are helped by the aural input and also because of a broader background knowledge and different logic mechanisms.
The question which remains to be explored is how to transform or improve the interpreting service in a way that those who most need it, i.e. the Deaf community, may benefit from it completely and without any restraint.
I will first report the transcription of the spoken part (no subtitles were available for it, so I listened to it and transcribed it myself) and the (not always correct) gloss of the TSL interpreted version as grasped by the deaf participant. After this, I will write all the corrections that I did together with the help of the hearing interpreter.
After that, some final comments will conclude this analysis.
Following is the transcription (in Chinese).
爲了讓今天的這個，提醒各位貴賓，為了讓今天這整個的流程更順暢，等一下 在
I would like to remind everyone, in order to let today’s debate flow smoothly 配合/今天/ 說(講)//今天/講座/會/講/順利/等待//
COOPERATE/TODAY/SPEAK/TODAY/LECTURE/CAN/SMOOTH/WAIT//
每個參選人發言之後大家就不要鼓掌了，那麼讓我們的流程很順利地進行，
After each candidate’s speech, please do not applaud, so let our process go smoothly 每個/參選人/講/完後/來/自己/拍手/不//時間/可以/即時//
EVERY/CANDIDATE/SPEAK/AFTER/SELF/APPLAUD/NO/TIME/CAN/SIMUL TANEOUS//
謝謝大家。
Thank you.
謝謝/順利//
THANK YOU/SMOOTH//
不好意思 Excuse me.
我想/
I think
李先生， 剛剛開始的時候，我們讓大家鼓掌， 沒有問題吼，但是之後因爲媒 體
Mr. Lee, at the very begininning applauding is not a problem, but afterwards, to enable the media
李/先生//剛才（當初）/拍手/沒問題//是++/接下來/記者員
LEE/MISTER/JUST/APPLAUD/NO PROBLEM/yes++/FOLLOWING/JOURNALISTS//
發言的時候，我們爭取一下時間。。。
to ask their questions without being interrupted 訪問/把握時間//
ASK/CONTROL TIME//
好，現在開始進入辯論的第二階段，我們現在開始由媒體提問。這個階段總共 有
Ok, let us enter the second phase of the debate, we open the floor to the media for any question. In total there will be ten questions.
今天/第二段/期間/開始/擔任/記者員/十/問題//
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TODAY/SECOND PHASE/TIME/BEGIN/JOURNALIST/TEN/QUESTIONS//
十個問題，請五位媒體代表輪流提問。參選人依照事前抽籤的結果依序回答，
每
The five representatives of the media may take turns in asking questions. The candidates will answer following the order previously given to them.
五個/代表/排序/提問/參選人//剛才/抽/完/一定/要/跟/回答/排序
FIVE/REPRESENTATIVE/ORDER/ASK/CANDIDATE/JUST/DRAW/FINISH/MUST/ANSWE R/ORDER//
位媒體發問的時間是四十秒，每位參選人回答的時間是一分三十秒。
The time allotted for each question is forty seconds and for the answer one minute and thirty seconds.
一個/代表/回答/四十分/參選人/回答/一小時半//
ONE/REPRESENTATIVE/ANSWER/FORTY/CANDIDATE/ANSWER/ONE HOUR HALF//
首先我們請中央通訊社的總編輯呂志翔先生提出他的第一個問題，
當初/第一個/紅/或/綠/公佈/關於/社會/我/發生//李/先生/第一個/問題 謝謝。
Thank you.
謝謝//
THANK YOU//
馬先生，您一直在宣揚在外交上的成就，但在參與政府間與國際組織方面，
Mr. Ma, you have been emphasizing your achievements in external affairs, but as for the international organizations
馬/先生/自己/傳宣/外交/自己/很好/再/政府/參加/國際組織//
MA/SIR/SELF/DECLARE/DIPLOMACY/SELF/GOOD/AGAIN/GOVERNMENT/
PARTICIPATE/INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS//
除了世界衛生大會以外，到目前為止還沒有重大的突破，這是否意味了活絡外 交 apart from WHO, there has been no other major breakthrough, does this mean that active diplomacy
世界/衛生/大會//到/現在/外面/是/新/拼命/沒有（零）是否/自己/有//
WORLD/HEALTH/ASSEMBLY/TO/NOW/OUTSIDE/BE/NEW/HAZARD/ZERO/
SELF/HAVE//
與急卻性要特別仰賴中國大陸的善意？對此是否有新的思考及作法？
will rely on the goodwill of Mainland China? Do you have any reflection you would like to share with us?
(下巴?34）/ 挫折/是/否/靠/大陸/幫助/對++/有/問題/新/創意/計劃/
XXX/DIFFICULTY/BE/NOT/REALY/MAINLAND
CHINA/HELP/CORRECT++/HAVE/PROBLEM/NEW/ORIGINAL/PLAN/
蔡女士，民進黨執政八年中在外交領域上面，大家印象最深刻，最深刻可能是 Ms. Tsai, in the eight yuears that the DPP has been at the government, everybody’s most prodound impression
第二位/蔡/女士/民進黨/出席/八年//了解/外面/外交/印象/很/深刻//
SECOND/TSAI/MS/DPP/GOVERN/EIGHT
YEARS//UNDERSTAND/OUTSIDE/DIPLOMACY/IMPRESSION/VERY/PROFO UND
外交甚至不惜於美國翻臉，妳要如何建立國際對民進黨處理外交事務上的向心 is that diplomacy has been hesitant to ever go against the Uniter States, how do you plan to establish the international diplomacy with the way DPP handles external affairs?發生/在/美國//恨/自己/可以/國際/社會/對/我國際/問題/相信/增加
HAPPEN/IN.AMERICA/HATE/SELF/CAN/INTERNATIONAL/SOCIETY/TOWA
34 The Deaf signer does not recognize this sign.
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RDS/INTERNATIONAL/PROBLEM/BELIEVE/INCREASE//
最後請問宋先生，藍綠在外交政治上經常是對立的，阻礙台灣在推展外交的關 Finally, I’d like to ask Mr. Sung, the two parties are often opposed in external affairs 第三位/宋/問/綠/普通/外面/一群/恨/陷害/挫折/可以/自己/想一致//
THIRD/SUNG/ASK/GREEN/COMMON/OUTSIDE/A
GROUP/HATE/FRAME/DIFFICULTY/CAN/SELF/THINK/CONSISTENT//
係，你又如何建立一個以共識為基礎，超越黨派的外交政策？謝謝
How do you plan to build a government in which these oppositions do not hinder Taiwan’s diplomatic policies? Thank you
作基礎/黨/取消/可以嗎//
FOUNDATIONS/PARTY/CANCEL/CAN?//
Once again, I would like to emphasize that the gloss for the interpreted version is not always correct, however I decided to report it as the Deaf signer perceived it, with no further edit, to analyze the issue of quality from the deaf user’s end, because it is always interesting to know how Deaf people evaluate the quality of interpretation. Their viewpoints may differ from what we would logically think or assume, as demonstrated by the next section.
Following is a transcription of the interview that I carried out with the first (Deaf) participant:
Q: What is the main difficulty that you experienced while watching this video?
A: The interpreter signs too fast, it is hard to follow him at times, even if I am a native signer.
Q: As a native signer, what is your opinion of the TSL used by the interpreter in the video in terms of naturality, lexicon and grammar?
A: As a deaf person, while I was watching the video, I thought to myself that he signs too fast. But then again, he can do nothing about it because he is a professional interpreter constrained by time limits, because it is a simultaneous interpretation. In sign language, we often omit many parts to get ahead of time, but in a similar setting the interpreter cannot omit anything, he has to be faithful to the original, thus he ends up signing too fast even for us native signers.
Q: Visual expressions are a fundamental grammatical component in any sign language, and also in TSL, but apparently in the video that we just saw the interpreter did not have any visual expression at all. Do you have any opinion or remark about that?
A: Probably it is because you are used to signed languages of other countries. In TSL it seems to me that visual expressions can also be found, but not necessarily, some people might have them while others might not. Maybe, it is a cultural difference.
Following is the transcription of the more articulated reply provided by the hearing interpreter. All GLOSSES are capitalized.
I think the word order he uses is not strictly the same a native signer would use, that is most probably due to the fact that he was influenced by the speech, which is unavoidable, to a certain extent, when doing simultaneous interpreting (both in oral and in signed languages). Also, most Deaf people, at least in Taiwan, do not have the command of TSL required to master a conversation or monolog on more abstract
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topics. More abstruse topics often are omitted, as a linguistic strategy. As for the TSL interpreted transcript, the first mistake I notice is when the speaker said bu hao yisi 不好意思 (excuse me), and the gloss for the TSL interpreted version is wo xiang 我想 (I think), because in the video the interpreter actually scratches his head, which he wouldn’t do if he wanted to sign the verb THINK. So, it is more like a way of expressing the EXCUSE ME equivalent. Also, when the speaker says ganggang kaishi de shihou 剛剛開始的時候 (at the beginning), the deaf participant glossed it as dangchu 當初, I think it is a very wise choice, you could have also glossed it as di yi ci 第一次. Where you guys wrote jintian 今天 (today), it is actually wrong because in the video they sign now and not today. Today is actually a compound noun in TSL, made up of NOW plus DAY. Finally, when they are speaking about how much time they have to reply you wrote one hour and a half, where it is actually one minute. The only difference between these two signs is that hour is signed with a complete circle around an imaginary watch on your wrist whereas a minute is only henghua guoqu 橫畫過去 (just one small horizontal line). So, once again the problem is that for native speakers the image is either too small or the interpreter signs too fast. If I look at it myself after turning off the volume I do not understand what he is signing, but if I compare it with the speech, then I can understand better.
So, it is not unusual for a deaf person to misunderstand minute with hour, you have to imagine that they have no oral connection to the speech. You might say that by logic one could assume that in a televised debate you do not have one hour to reply, but you might be surprised to find out that their logic is often different from ours.
There is also one last mistake: 發生在美國 (HAPPEN IN AMERICA)/恨(HATE)/
自己(SELF) is not what the interpreter actually signs. He signs 討論(DISCUSS)/美 國(AMERICA)/ 敵對(ENEMY).
The interpreter proceeded by telling me that in the past few years, he has
interviewed many native signers, and some of them have told him that they do not actually understand TV news sign languages interpreting very well because some of the interpreters’ do not use natural sign’s grammar. They tend to use the same syntax and or grammatical structure as the one in the oral language they are translating from.
A major critique to this interpreted version is that sign language is a communicative principle, direct, concise and simple. And also, throughout the whole speech he has no expression whatsoever on his face. However, according to the interpreter, most of the times this types of interpreters cannot have expressions on their face because their clients, in this case, the TV station, do not want them to do that. They even have written rules about it because they think that the interpreter has to resemble the host or the anchor, in the case of TV news, as much as possible. So, the fact that he has no expression cannot be accredited to him. Finally, the only problem that he could pinpoint in his interpretation is that he tends to translate too literally and not follow a more natural sign language word order, other than that he seems to be doing fine.
From this brief report, we can see the importance of some evaluation parameters which appear both in the comment of the deaf participant and in the more detailed analysis of the hearing interpreter.
First of all, the significance of facial expressions cannot be denied. Although the Deaf participant that I interviewed stated the following:
Q: Visual expressions are a fundamental grammatical component in any sign language, and also in TSL, but apparently in the video that we just saw the interpreter did not have any visual expression at all. Do you have any opinion or remark about that?
A: Probably it is because you are used to signed languages of other countries. In TSL it
139 seems to me that visual expressions can also be found, but not necessarily, some people might have them while others might not. Maybe, it is a cultural difference.