German Sign Language and
Communication of the Deaf
Photo: UHH/Denstorf
19 May 2022, by Pamela Sundhausen
Photo: IDGS
On May 4, the first of many international guest lectures of this summer semester took place. We were joined by Professor Robyn Dean from Rochester Institute of Technology (USA), who not only directs the health care interpreting program there, but has also been a certified sign language interpreter herself for over 30 years. Her research on issues of ethics in interpreter education has earned her international recognition.
The topic of the presentation was the "Demand Control Scheme" (DC-S) in the interpreting process. Prof. Dean addressed both the demands placed on interpreters (demands) and what controls they have in the interpreting situation (controls). Using case studies from the health care sector, she demonstrated the importance of developing a vocabulary to articulate implicit thought processes that interpreters go through in their daily practice to make ethically complex decisions. The lively discussion that followed included a discussion of current demands of online interpreting.