Describe the context and participants for this interpretation based on the exercise title and picture of the speaker. Marquessa Brown will be telling a story of her childhood to a group of first graders.
Did your proficiency in the source language affect your ability to interpret this passage? If yes, explain why. Did your proficiency in the target language affect your ability to interpret this passage? If yes, explain why. The source language was in English, and because of that fact, I understood everything that she was saying. There were no issues with comprehension from the source; however, I did notice that my proficiency in the target language limited what I could and could not convey. For example, when Marquessa started describing how her head got stuck in the stairs outside I found myself scrambling to find a sign that would match what she had described. I didn’t know what it looked like because I have never seen it, therefore I did not know how to convey an equivalent message in the target language.
During the interpretation process, were you aware of any processing problems such as predicting language patterns or remembering what you heard? Refer to the transcript and underline any portions of the text where you feel these types of errors occurred. There were a few instances that I was unable to predict what she was going to say. I have listed them here:
“…and I think when he was born, I was one of the 2-1/2 year olds who didn’t take very well to having this new person coming into the household, and there was clearly some sibling rivalry as I was growing up.”I had no idea where she was going with this until she said “new person coming into the household”.
“And so I would shave with my dad’s razor, and I would cut my face all up. So I was a very, very active kid.” I did not anticipate this switch.
“…I got fussed at…”I would have never guessed she would use this term.
“So that’s kind of the story, the most special thing that happened to me.” I did not anticipate this ending. I felt like she was going to say more.
Compare source and target messages to examine your interpretation for examples of literal translation. If you find examples of literal translation put parentheses around the corresponding sections of the transcript. Examine your work for examples of omissions. Refer to the transcript and underline any information that is omitted in your interpretation.
Literal Translations:
“…and I would hide so they couldn’t find me to punish me.” No negative consequences.
“I think the most exciting part… was the time I got my head stuck under the steps.” Effect of literal translation unknown.
“So I had to wait for my mom to come looking for me…”
Omissions:
“…and I think when he was born…”
“I was always getting punished for doing something.”
“…which I’ve been trying to get to for a few minutes…”
“…and that would be my gravy over my roast in the big pot… and that would be my gravy over my potatoes.”
“I never got my head from under those steps!”
Compare source and target messages to examine your interpretation for errors in comprehension. If you find errors in comprehension mar a “C” on the transcript in the corresponding location. I did not find any errors in comprehension.
5-Step Follow-Up
Step 1: Interpretation Rendered Review your entire interpretation. Select the 3-minute portion that reflects your best work. Transcribe only the portions of the interpretation you would like to improve. You do not need to transcribe the source text. Use only the steps outlined below to revise each error that you identify.
Transcription of portions that need improvement:
ME WANT TELL-YOU ABOUT SOMETHING INTEREST FUNNY ALSO. HAPPEN ME AGE 7. ME ALWAYS REAL ACTIVE ALWAYS TROUBLE. MY PARENTS IF WANT PUNISH ME, ME ESCAPE HIDE BED ME HID. ANYWHERE ME DON’T-WANT PUNISH. HAVE YOUNGER BROTHER AGE 2 YEARS ½ YOUNG THAN ME. HE BORN ME DON’T-WANT BROTHER NEW PERSON LIVE MY HOUSE. REALLY STRUGGLE ME US GROW-UP. WE GROW-UP HIM ME PICK-ON ALWAYS. HE CRY CRY HIT-HIM. ALWAYS STEAL HIS THING. ME ALWAYS PUNISH. ME HIDE BECAUSE ME NOT-WANT MY PARENTS FIND ME.
Step 2: Determine Underlying Reason Although there are many possible reasons for errors in interpretation, in this analysis you will select one of the following for each error identified in Step 1.
Comprehension Transfer Reformulation
Step 3: Probable Effect of Error on Communicative Function After selecting the types of errors, rate each error according to how it impacts the communication, keeping in mind that not all errors are equally serious.
5 = no negative consequences
4 = minimal 3 = moderate
2 = severe
1 = grave
I feel that the audience had to do a lot of their own meaning transfer based on my botched signs.
Step 4: Revisions Write, and then later record, a revised interpretation for each error that better preserves the meaning of the original source message.
Interpretation re-written:
ME WANT SHARE STORY INTEREST FUNNY TOO. HAPPEN ME AGE-7 ME ALWAYS DO-DO, ACT, PLAY. ME TROUBLE. IF MOM-DAD MAD WANT PUNISH ME, ME DO? RUN-AWAY HIDE FAST. BED HIDE-UNDER, CHAIR HIDE-UNDER. ME NOT-WANT PUNISH. MY BROTHER (Pro. 1) YOUNG. 2 ½ YEAR YOUNG. HAPPEN MY BROTHER (Pro. 1) HE BORN ME NOT READY. NEW PERSON LIVE-IN MY HOUSE ME NOT READY. HIM-AND-I GROW-UP REALLY FIGHT ARGUE. ME PICK-ON TEASE HIM. ME HIT-HIM HE CRY CRY CRY. ME TEND HIS T-O-Y-S THING ME STEAL. MY PARENTS NOTICE THEY ALWAYS PUNISH ME. #SO ME DO? HIDE.
Step 5: Action Plan for Improvement Once you have determined the types of errors and their impact, write down what action you plan to take to improve your work.
I need to work on producing messages in ASL from an English source. I realize now that there is a lot of external processing that takes away from the overall impact of the message (especially if I were telling the store to a group of kids). I will try to watch more ASL stories on YouTube, VLogs, and I will use the videos in the school’s library to improve my storytelling.