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[DeafTourette]

So, as my name on here implies, I'm deaf. With a cochlear implant, of course.

Anyway, my daughter's mom is in the hospital right now and I've had to act as her interpreter for the doctors and nurses when I got off of work... It's exhausting. The hospital network here doesn't use in-person interpreters anymore... Though they did BEFORE the pandemic. Cost saving measure. They use remote interpreters via iPad now. You can basically FORGET IT as far as private clinics go.

The thing is, most deaf people... The CULTURALLY Deaf anyway... Barely accept things this way. It's more difficult as far as internet connection, last minute questions or statements, etc. Especially when the patient has questions as they're being lead to the exit.

And they're doing this for ALL languages... Vietnamese, Spanish, Russian, etc. It's not just for the deaf.

So have any of you had to be a family member's interpreter at a clinic or hospital? If so, how often?

 

[feynoob]

I did once. Somalian/Arabic to English.
It was a disaster
Conveying certain words from your native language is hard. And the worst part is that you have to translate to both parties.

Unless you have experience in this field, it never an easy task.

 

[AJUMP23]

I have to translate northern to southern English for my wife.

 

[DeafTourette]

I did once. Somalian/Arabic to English.
It was a disaster
Conveying certain words from your native language is hard. And the worst part is that you have to translate to both parties.

Unless you have experience in this field, it never an easy task.

That's the hardest thing... The transliteration. And the switching from one grammatical structure to another and back again. My brain doesn't work that way. I used to do it but it's been so long I'm out of practice! It's VERY hard! I try not to let things get lost in translation.

 

[kanjobazooie]

They use remote interpreters via iPad now.

Would it not be easier to just communicate using written text with the doctor? I feel that would be more direct than a video call. (but maybe time-consuming??)

 

[DeafTourette]

Would it not be easier to just communicate using written text with the doctor? I feel that would be more direct than a video call. (but maybe time-consuming??)

No. Grammatical structure of ASL is different from English grammatical structure. It's easy to get confused and lose meaning between languages.

 

[lifa-cobex]

I have to translate northern to southern English for my wife.

Wats for snap luv?

 

[feynoob]

That's the hardest thing... The transliteration. And the switching from one grammatical structure to another and back again. My brain doesn't work that way. I used to do it but it's been so long I'm out of practice! It's VERY hard! I try not to let things get lost in translation.

" medical terminology is unfamiliar."
this is what I got from chatgpt.

trying to translate medical term is hard. Even if your Grammer is good, you won't be able to know certain medical terms, since those are not familiar for most people.

 

[DeafTourette]

" medical terminology is unfamiliar."
this is what I got from chatgpt.

trying to translate medical term is hard. Even if your Grammer is good, you won't be able to know certain medical terms, since those are not familiar for most people.

Right!

Imagine having to spell out something that doesn't have a sign and then having to explain what it is... MORE THAN TWICE in one sitting! OR having to try to dumb things down so it's easier to sign with ALL signs and no fingerspelling. It's mentally EXHAUSTING!

 

[Torrent of Pork]

I've translated Florida Man into plain English for visitors from time to time.

"Watch out for the road gator."
"Watch out for the separated semi tire tread in the road."

"It's a little warm today."
"It's over 100 degrees Fahrenheit with %100 humidity."

"Hold my beer."
"Run, now."

 

[nush]

That's the hardest thing... The transliteration. And the switching from one grammatical structure to another and back again. My brain doesn't work that way. I used to do it but it's been so long I'm out of practice! It's VERY hard! I try not to let things get lost in translation.

I found that out translating Chinese for people. I told a friend of mine that it makes me tired to do it, and obviously he didn't understand. Until he got good enough to translate and then he was "Oh you were right it does make you mentally tired".

The difference is that the second langauge you just know (Learned) what it means and you stop the translating in your head you do when learning. As soon as you are in the middle translating between 2 people that's a lot of mental work.

 

[AJUMP23]

Wats for snap luv?

I mean American not British.