Hanna Mignano

Interpreting Practicum Fall 2021

Professional Development

11/21/2021

1 hr.

RIT Virtual Lecture: Barbara Spiecker

I really enjoyed this lecture. Barbara is a deaf marine biologist, who comes from a family of

generational deafness. She offers a very unique perspective on ASL as a language, as well as some

very specific linguistic struggles that she has faced as a deaf person within academia. The entire lecture

was signed with a voiced interpreter and powerpoints. Barbara made a very good point that I had not

considered before; that ASL is often treated not as a language in and of itself, but as merely a tool with

which to understand English (this is especially true in a mainstream setting). As someone who was

raised with ASL as part of a deaf family, she describes how she took the language for granted until she

got to college and realized its importance to her community. Her early childhood was filled with rich

linguistic development, and it shows in her later success as an adult and accomplished career marine

biologist. This made me think back to a previous lecture discussing the crucial impact that early

linguistic development has on the later success of a child. I think Barbara is a stellar example of just

how wonderfully a deaf child can progress into the world with the right early integration and

encouragement. She noted the distinctions between Social ASL and Academic ASL; and how academia

prioritizes ASL for English, not message transmission. She also discusses the information gaps in class

due to interpreter inexperience and/or lack of knowledge in a specific background. This posed a unique

challenge to Barbara in pursuing her studies within such a complex and in depth subject as marine

biology, where standard ASL syntax did not always properly define the concepts. She also discusses the

difference between being a passive consumer of communication as opposed to an active participant,

which she strives to be. I liked that she made the point that as a deaf person, her responsibility is to
provide direct access to communication, not to cater to hearing people. This brought up a common

theme within the community of ASL being “colonized” by English. Barbara closed with an excellent

idea that language is fluid and that its framework evolves; and that the qualities of a good interpreter

are but not limited to self awareness, cultural mediation and advocacy, and transparency. All of these

are excellent points that are great food for thought, and which I will take to heart as a new interpreter in

the field.