Lore Rosenthal
Philadelphia, PA
The most common question posed to any Jewish interpreter is, “how do you interpret from Hebrew?”
Depending on the situation, the background of the deaf consumer(s), and the skill of the interpreter, the answer may vary. It is always important to consult with the deaf people in attendance and solicit their input and preferences.
Interpreters have several options on how to handle passages in Hebrew. There are often regional preferences regarding what deaf people may be used to and prefer.
Some interpreters may sign, “The rabbi is speaking Hebrew now”, and then pause until the message switches back into English. Often times the rabbi will repeat the same passage in English so the deaf audience still gets the message in at least one language.
Another interpreting option is to mouth the Hebrew words as best as possible. If the deaf person is familiar with the expression or prayer, this may be meaningful to them.
If the interpreter has knowledge of the prayer book he/she may be able to find the Hebrew passage in the prayer book. On the right hand side of the page, the prayer is usually translated into English (although not always literally or completely). In this case the interpreter may sign from the English. Some interpreters will “transliterate” (mouthing the English words while signing –even though the Rabbi is speaking Hebrew) while others will “interpret” (signing in ASL without mouth movements — in which case no one knows if they are looking at the Hebrew or English!!!).
In some parts of the country it is popular and acceptable to spell out each Hebrew word phonetically (B-A-R-U-C-H, A-T-A-H, etc). This is most useful to deaf people who are familiar with the Hebrew pronunciation or who are trying to learn the Hebrew words. Some prayer books have the Hebrew written out phonetically already. This is usually called “transliteration”. However, the phonetic spellings are not consistent from one book to the next. If the prayer book does not have a transliteration, the interpreter must be able to read Hebrew in order to spell out each word. This can be very time consuming and difficult to keep up with longer passages.
The next three options are for interpreters who are able to translate from Hebrew into sign language.
Some interpreters have the ability to listen to Hebrew and then rephrase the prayer in English (often called Pidgin Sign English). Other interpreters listen to the Hebrew, mouth the Hebrew, and sign the meaning of each Hebrew word. I often think of this as “transliterated Hebrew” since it follows the word order of the Hebrew. Still other interpreters listen to the Hebrew and express the meaning directly into ASL. Unfortunately, few interpreters have sufficient fluency in both Hebrew and ASL to accomplish this last option.
Lest you think all of us interpreters are “SUPERHUMAN” and can accomplish this “on the spot”, be aware that interpreters spend countless hours studying the meaning of Hebrew prayers, practicing, and often writing down their translations before they arrive at the synagogue. This is why interpreters usually require several weeks notice for a Jewish interpreting job.
Till next month…
