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REVERSION: Revertability of ASL interpretations to English and vice versa.
By William G. Vicars, EdD
November 19, 2023
A look at bilingual interpreting with dual representation via a two-format, interspliced approach:
Fidelity in interpretation refers to the degree of accuracy and faithfulness an interpreter maintains in conveying the meaning, tone, and intent of the original message from the source language to the target language. It's about ensuring that the essence and subtleties of the original message are preserved.
Revertability in interpretation is the capacity of an interpreted message to be interpreted back into its original form.
Retranslation Consistency: The concept of translating a message back into the original language and maintaining its integrity is a strong test of bilingual fidelity. It requires a deep understanding of both languages to ensure that nuances and specificities are not lost in a double translation process.
Intersplicing: The word splice means to connect, unite, link, or join together -- generally by overlapping or interweaving. The word "interspliced" is typically used to refer to something that has been intermixed or interspersed with another thing, often in a way that alternates or interweaves the two elements. Intersplicing is the process of doing that mixing. Splicing and related terms are commonly used in contexts like film, video editing, writing, and rope repair or extension where different pieces or segments are combined or inserted between each other. For example, in a documentary, historical footage might be interspliced with modern interviews to provide context and contrast. Intersplicing as applied to interpreting refers to the intentional overlapping and interweaving of two languages resulting in a robust, high-fidelity, highly-revertible message with a high degree of revertability.
Translanguaging: This term is used to describe the process of using multiple language systems, or linguistic resources, in communication, especially by individuals who are bilingual or multilingual. It involves blending and switching between different languages in a fluid and integrated manner.
Approaches to maintaining revertibility:
Intersplice: Do the extra work to convey a the message in two formats — one that is visually effective in ASL and another that closely maps to English.
Interpreting: Interpret a message from English to ASL ensuring that the message is clearly understood in ASL.
Intersplicing: Interpret a message from English to ASL ensuring that the message is clearly understood in ASL and can also be accurately translated back to the same exact English phraseology.
Suppose an interpreter for the Deaf wanted to interpret a concept from English to ASL and wanted to make sure that the resulting signed message could be interpreted back into the same exact English words.
That interpreter would probably need to use a intersplicing and translanguaging wherein they utilize a style of signing that closely maps to English while also presenting the information in more conventional highly visual or depictive ASL signing. In effect the interpreter has delivered the message in two forms -- one that is visually clear and effective in the target language and one that is less visually clear and effective in the target language but that can be reverted more easily and assuredly back to the original language -- in doing the extra work of conveying the same message in two different formats the interpreter allows for the retention of the ability to revert back to the original message whereas if the interpreter had simply interpreted the English message into highly effective ASL the meaning may be conveyed but it might be difficult to convert the message back to the same exact phraseology due to the fact that different words and signs can have the same meaning and that during the word selection or sign selection process the interpreter might choose a different word when converting back into English than the original word in the original language expression.
Notes:
If you know of anyone or any articles that have specifically lectured on or addressed the concept of "reversion" in English to ASL interpreting in regard to signing in ways that retain the option of reverting an interpreted message back into the original English message (in other words fidelity there and back again) prior to November of 2023, please do point me towards such literature. Thanks, Bill Vicars (contact info).
Also see:
"Bilingual Fidelity" (in ASL Interpreting)
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