Course Schedule and Units
(This schedule and related class downloads are subject to change without notice. You are responsible for knowledge of any changes.) Text: Kelly, J. (2001). Transliterating: Show Me the English. Alexandria, VA: RID Press. (Special thanks to colleagues Teddi Von Pingel and Holly Nelson at VRSII for access to some of the texts we’ll be using this semester.)
Unfortunately, this class text is only available in limited distribution; available from UVU Bookstore, Amazon, Harris Communications, abebooks.com, or chegg.com.
Unless otherwise stated, all assignments and assessments are due by 11:59 pm on their due date.
Semester Calendar
(This schedule is subject to frequent changes and updates; please check back often.)
Reminder about Pre-requisite Learning
This course presupposes that students have already taken ASL3350: Consecutive Interpreting or ASL3370: Sign-to-Spoken English Interpreting and/or that there is familiarity with foundational interpreting principles of public presentation; interpreting terminologies, comptetencies, and models; miscue and error recognition; attending and listening; text organization and analysis; managing memory; reformulation and reconstructing; and self-monitoring. We’ll be mentioning and relying on an understanding of these principles throughout the semester.
Thursday, January 10
Tuesday, January 15
Contexting interpretive/transliterative ‘work’ and de-personalizing feedback
One of the greatest struggles of the professional signed language interpreting field is the difficulty practitioners have in depersonalizing work product. Let’s break that cycle; discussing our work is a scientific process concerned with gathering data and scrutizing equivalency of message from source to target, not adjectival commentary on an interpretations ‘goodness’ or ‘badness.’ Let’s do this.
Due 10 January: Student/teacher contract due
Tuesday, January 15
Pre-assessment
Assessment 15 January: Produce unrehearsed transliteration (source text in GoREACT class site). Assessment will be rapidly measured against this rubric.
Thursday, January 17
Tuesday, January 22
What is transliteration?
Though its merits and practice have been debated since Ball State and the early days of professional interpreting, there is not a good consensus about the definition, process, and successful outcome or product of transliteration. In order to become better practitioners of transliteration, we need to 1) better understand what it is and what it is not and 2) discuss differences and similarities in the process, product, skills and abilities, and application of transliterating work.
Evaluation 17 January: TP01: Defining transliteration; Topic discussion evaluation
Video 22 January: Video 1; submit in GoREACT
The text in Video 1 features a slower presentation speed and English captions. Use (but don’t overuse) the captions to help you gauge where you are in the text and also to prompt correct semantic choices. Start to focus on interpreting features that you know are somewhat problematic for you (fluency or clarity in fingerspelling or sign pronunciation or a small signing space). (We won’t do this all the all the time, but this is a good way to orient yourself towards correct word order and semantics.)
Thursday, January 24
Tuesday, January 29
Thursday, January 31
Manual codes for English (MCEs): Understanding transliteration morphology
Transliterating between codes of English is not the same as interpreting between spoken English and American Sign Language. Transliterators need to have familiarity with and skill in a variety of representations of spoken English to produce their work.
Evaluation 24 January: TP02: Understanding MCEs; Topic discussion evaluation
Tuesday, February 5
Thursday, February 7
(Guest speaker)
Tuesday, February 12
Thursday, February 14
Where would I use transliteration?
If Deaf people prefer American Sign Language as their primary language, where/why would they ever use transliteration? Surprisingly enough, transliteration is used in the same settings as signed-language interpretation; where and how is transliterating used?
Evaluation 5 February: TP03: Where do I use this? (Guest speakers 7 February, X March; others TBD); Topic discussion evaluation
Video 12 February: Video 2; submit in GoREACT
The text in Video 2 does not feature English captions, but does have an on-screen component. Try both using and not using the on-screen information to prompt you. Start to focus on interpreting features that you know are somewhat problematic for you (clarity in fingerspelling or sign pronunciation or a small signing space or number pronunciation). (We won’t do this all the all the time, but this is a good way to orient yourself towards correct word order and semantics.)
Tuesday, February 19
Thursday, February 21
Tuesday, February 26
Thursday, February 28
Tuesday, March 5
Thursday, March 7
(Guest speaker)
Tuesday, March 12
Thursday, March 14
Tuesday, March 19
Thursday, March 21
Tuesday, March 26
Thursday, March 28
Tuesday, April 2
Thursday, April 4
Tuesday, April 9
Thursday, April 11
(Guest speaker)
Tuesday, April 16
Thursday, April 18
Tuesday, April 23
Interlingual language development
Not only is having an expert command of spoken English and signed language skills requisite to producing transliterated work, connecting these abilities for simultaneous production is also fundamental. A significant portion of this course will be spent on discussing, reacquiring, and synthesizing knowledge and fluency of grammatical skills inherent in both languages.
Evaluation 19 February: TP04: Oral components of transliteration; Topic discussion evaluation
Evaluation 21 February: TP05: Parts of speech; Topic discussion evaluation
Evaluation 7 March: TP06: Fingerspelling; Topic discussion evaluation
Evaluation 12 March: TP07: Modifying source language; Topic discussion evaluation
Evaluation 26 March: TP08: Specialized signs, depicting verbs; Topic discussion evaluation
Evaluation 2 Apr: TP09: Using space, reflexive/indexing, pronominalization; Topic discussion evaluation
Evaluation 18 April: TP10: Subject/object agreement; Topic discussion evaluation
Video 5 March: Video 3; submit in GoREACT
The text in Video 3 features an 80% presentation and a 100% presentation. First, read the transcript and check for any vocabulary issues. (Consider how to semantically represent ‘Costa Rica,’ ’nerve-racking,’ ‘Catholic,’ ’cathedral,’ ‘patrons,’ ‘close to,’ ‘symbol,’ ‘charm,’ and ‘basement.’) Transliterate the first half of the video (at 80% speed) as a warm-up, pause, then transliterate the second half of the video (at 100% speed). Compare and make observations. Start to focus on interpreting features that you know are somewhat problematic for you (fluency or clarity in fingerspelling or sign pronunciation or a small signing space).
Video 26 March: Video 4; submit in GoREACT
The text in Video 4 is a 100% speed presentation. First, read the transcript and check for any vocabulary issues. Transliterate the video (100% speed). Then go back to your recording and identify 3-5 strophes or segments you feel were particularly inequivalent, unsuccessful, or problematic for you; why were these challenging for you (vocabulary? processing?) Re-transliterate these strophes/segments again in a second submitted video. Submit a ‘Transliteration 4’ and a ‘Transliteration 4 Revised.’
Video 16 April: Video 5; submit in GoREACT
For Video 5, you won’t have access to or pre-read a transcript. Using all the skills you’ve amassed thus far this semester, transliterate the video. Not required, but suggested for your personal skill-building: If you feel challenged by certain strophes or segments that you feel were particularly inequivalent, unsuccessful, or problematic for you, 1) consider why were these challenging for you (vocabulary? processing? fluency?) and 2) re-transliterate these strophes/segments again in a second submitted video. Submit a ‘Transliteration 5’ (and a ‘Transliteration 5 Revised’ if desired)
Tuesday, February 26
Midterm evaluation
Due 26 February: Complete the midterm evaluation
Friday, April 26
(Final) Post-assessment
Assessment Produce unrehearsed interpretation (source text in GoREACT class site). Due by Friday, 26 April, 11:59 pm.
Tuesday, April 30
Knowledge Exam
Knowledge Exam Formative exam assessing your knowledge of transliteration concepts learned in class and in your reading. Submission TBD). Due by Tuesday, 30 April, 11:59 pm.