Translating the Deaf Self

Lead Research Organisation: Heriot-Watt University
Department Name: Sch of Social Sciences

Abstract

The majority of people rarely if ever have the experience of being interpreted or translated. Confined to occasional social, business or official situations being interpreted is usually episodic and purposeful. The translated self is not a permanent condition. However, for Deaf British Sign Language users, this is not the case. Deaf people experience others' perceptions of who they are through sign language interpreter mediation on an everyday basis. Others' experience of Deaf people, largely formed indirectly through the use of interpreters, is rarely understood as intercultural, but typically through the lens of disability. To date analyses of translation and identity have focussed on the identity of the translator, but not on the user, and particularly not on the user who is in a permanent state of being translated. Through an interdisciplinary, mixed-methods, qualitative research design, this study will pioneer a new exploration of translation and culture. The project seeks to explore whether translation is constitutive of Deaf culture(s) in their formation, projection and transformation and the impact of consistently experiencing existence to others as a translated self on personal identity, achievement and well being. The results of the study will inform theories on translation, identity and well being, and will trial a new methodology for conducting research with visual languages. The results will also have an impact on stakeholder groups such as parents of deaf children, sign language interpreters, and hearing people that work with Deaf sign language users, as well as Deaf people themselves, in better understanding the consequences of a permanent condition of the translated self.

Planned Impact

In line with Charles Forsdick's reflections on the Translating Cultures theme and his recommendations to bring findings of research and related activities to wider publics, build new communities and alliances, and to seek new audiences (see http://translating.hypotheses.org/404), the outputs of this project have been carefully considered in order to have impact on the non-academic community, including: the Deaf community, the wider hearing and hard-of-hearing (non-sign language using) community, Government bodies, third sector organisations, educationalists, parents with deaf children, and sign language translators and interpreters who function as intermediaries in the translation of the Deaf self. This research will provide an evidence base for potential policy changes in the UK in relation to Government Access to Work translation and interpreting provisions for Deaf people, as well as feeding in to training for Deaf sign language translators and hearing sign language interpreters, training for teachers of deaf children, and other hearing people that work in a professional capacity with Deaf people (such as social workers, audiologists, speech pathologists, disability advisors). Furthermore, the production of a bilingual educational drama in English and BSL on video, which will be disseminated through various forms of social media and entered into international Deaf film festivals, will ensure the wider impact of the research results on the international Deaf community, Deaf adults and young people. The major resulting impact is that the video will be available to be presented at academic conferences and non-academic community workshops, to deaf children at school, to sign language interpreters as part of professional development training and sign language interpreting students as part of their education, to hearing professionals as part of deaf awareness training workshops. Thus the resulting video will be utilized by academics, third sector (Deaf community and disability) organisations, professional associations and educational establishments to raise awareness about Deaf people's life experiences, about the role of signed language interpreters in mediating Deaf people's lives, the relationship between translation and identity, and the shared experiences of Deaf people in engaging in indirect communication.
 
Title A digital exhibition 
Description All of the works produced by the artists in residence plus their commentaries on the work and their response to the commission were included in a digital online exhibition at the end of the project that is still live. 
Type Of Art Artwork 
Year Produced 2018 
Impact This web site has been visited many times and produced considerable comment and debate both within the deaf community and amongst the wider scholarly community and general public. It draws attention to the significance and impact for the individual of being perceived through an interpreter/in translation in many aspects of every day life as well as professional identity and the performance of that. It is a means of bringing the ideas and debates of the original translating the deaf self project to a wider audience in a medium that is culturally recognisable as accessible and effective to a signing community with a visual orientation. 
URL https://sites.manchester.ac.uk/artviatds/art/
 
Title BSL video drama (1) 
Description This product takes the form of three 1-2 minute video dramas in British Sign Language (BSL), the content of which was developed from key themes identified in the data. The videos feature Deaf and hearing actors using BSL and was produced by a Deaf-led production company in collaboration with the research team. The first video is based in the workplace, and one deaf and one hearing colleague conversing through an interpreter - something embarrassing happens over coffee. 
Type Of Art Film/Video/Animation 
Year Produced 2016 
Impact The video drama was submitted for DeafFest 2017, the UK national Deaf film festival, and will be submitted for other international festivals. The research team plans to apply for AHRC Follow-on Funding for Impact and Engagement in 2017 in order to show the videos to Deaf community members throughout the country, and also to engage deaf artists in to create works to represent the findings and engage with the theme of being translated. The videos will continue to be shown as part of conference presentations and other community events where appropriate. Thus the most notable impact from this product is on the international Deaf community, as the videos are accessible to them in sign language and provide an opportunity for them to consider the findings from the study in relation to their own experiences of working with interpreters on an everyday basis. There will also be further potential impact as the video will be able to be shown to deaf children in schools, to interpreting students in sign language interpreter education programmes and in educational workshops advising parents of deaf children what to expect for their child growing up, and in policy advice to hearing colleagues about issues for them to take into account when interacting with Deaf sign language users. 
URL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CHVefnp10Y
 
Title BSL video/ drama (2) 
Description This product takes the form of three 1-2 minute video dramas in British Sign Language (BSL), the content of which was developed from key themes identified in the data. The videos feature Deaf and hearing actors using BSL and was produced by a Deaf-led production company in collaboration with the research team. The second video is based at the doctor's surgery, where a deaf patient consults with his doctor through an interpreter - but the doctor doesn't seem to understand how to communicate. 
Type Of Art Film/Video/Animation 
Year Produced 2016 
Impact The video drama was submitted for DeafFest 2017, the UK national Deaf film festival, and will be submitted for other international festivals. The research team plans to apply for AHRC Follow-on Funding for Impact and Engagement in 2017 in order to show the videos to Deaf community members throughout the country, and also to engage deaf artists in to create works to represent the findings and engage with the theme of being translated. The videos will continue to be shown as part of conference presentations and other community events where appropriate. Thus the most notable impact from this product is on the international Deaf community, as the videos are accessible to them in sign language and provide an opportunity for them to consider the findings from the study in relation to their own experiences of working with interpreters on an everyday basis. There will also be further potential impact as the video will be able to be shown to deaf children in schools, to interpreting students in sign language interpreter education programmes and in educational workshops advising parents of deaf children what to expect for their child growing up, and in policy advice to hearing colleagues about issues for them to take into account when interacting with Deaf sign language users. 
URL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qH_3Ia15dK0
 
Title BSL video/ drama (3) 
Description This product takes the form of three 1-2 minute video dramas in British Sign Language (BSL), the content of which was developed from key themes identified in the data. The videos feature Deaf and hearing actors using BSL and was produced by a Deaf-led production company in collaboration with the research team. The third video is based in the workplace, where a deaf professional is giving a presentation to his hearing work colleagues through an interpreter but he feels devalued. 
Type Of Art Film/Video/Animation 
Year Produced 2016 
Impact The video drama was submitted for DeafFest 2017, the UK national Deaf film festival, and will be submitted for other international festivals. The research team plans to apply for AHRC Follow-on Funding for Impact and Engagement in 2017 in order to show the videos to Deaf community members throughout the country, and also to engage deaf artists in to create works to represent the findings and engage with the theme of being translated. The videos will continue to be shown as part of conference presentations and other community events where appropriate. Thus the most notable impact from this product is on the international Deaf community, as the videos are accessible to them in sign language and provide an opportunity for them to consider the findings from the study in relation to their own experiences of working with interpreters on an everyday basis. There will also be further potential impact as the video will be able to be shown to deaf children in schools, to interpreting students in sign language interpreter education programmes and in educational workshops advising parents of deaf children what to expect for their child growing up, and in policy advice to hearing colleagues about issues for them to take into account when interacting with Deaf sign language users. 
URL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AN0X6NtWbw
 
Title Calendar entry 
Description A digital photograph of one of the pieces of artwork created by one of the deaf artists was used in a University of Manchester 2021 calendar showcasing the talents of disabled people 
Type Of Art Artefact (including digital) 
Year Produced 2020 
Impact Not known 
 
Title Follow-on Funded Deaf Artistic Exhibitions 
Description The follow-on funding project explored the findings from this original project through artistic exploration and transformation in the visual arts as a means of engaging more deaf people and communities with these ideas. This interdisciplinary project was led jointly by a deaf-hearing research team from the Social Research with Deaf People group in the School of Health Sciences at the University of Manchester and the Centre for Translation & Interpreting Studies in the Department of Languages & Intercultural Studies at Heriot-Watt University. The team worked collaboratively with Deaf Explorer - an artist agency supporting Deaf creatives - to support artists-in-residence in Deaf community organisations, including Deaf Action in Edinburgh, DeafPLUS in London, Manchester Deaf Centre and the Royal Association of the Deaf in Romford. Three professional artists, and one artist intern, spent a period of time in each organisation where they were given the time, space and resources to delve into the issues reported in the preceding Translating the Deaf Self project with local Deaf people, which informed their artistic inspirations. This was a community-participatory project that not only involved local deaf communities but also offered the opportunity for deaf artist capacity building through the recruitment of a new deaf artist to shadow one of the professional artists as an intern. As well as creating artworks to represent the concept of 'the translated Deaf self', the deaf artists were interviewed about their thought processes, in order to further feed into our explorations of this concept. In addition to artistic exhibitions of the final artworks in London, Kent, Birmingham, and Edinburgh, one of the legacies of the project is a website, which features information about the artists, the exhibitions of the artwork and digital photos of the artwork. 
Type Of Art Artistic/Creative Exhibition 
Year Produced 2018 
Impact High level of engagement with the artistic workshops and visitors to the exhibitions, plus discussion through Twitter and Facebook about people's reactions to seeing the art work and how they can related to the concept of the 'translated deaf self' represented in the art work. 
URL https://sites.manchester.ac.uk/artviatds/about/
 
Title Spitalfields Gallery London, Exhibition 
Description The translating the deaf self art works were displayed in a public exhibition as part of a national tour raising awareness of the project, its foundational research from the original translating the deaf self project and displaying the resultant art works. 
Type Of Art Artistic/Creative Exhibition 
Year Produced 2018 
Impact The exhibition brought the research concepts concerning the impact for the individual of being known in translation in large proportions of everyday and professional life to a wider audience in a medium that was culturally coherent with the visual orientation of signing peoples. Spitalfields gallery offered a further art exhibition in 2019 to showcase the work of the deaf artists unrelated to the proejct but which promotes their visibility and impact within the wider artistic environment in the UK bringing recognition to their talent. 
URL https://sites.manchester.ac.uk/artviatds/art/
 
Title Sun Pier House Gallery, Chatham, Exhibition 
Description The translating the deaf self art works were displayed in a public exhibition as part of a national tour raising awareness of the project, its foundational research from the original translating the deaf self project and displaying the resultant art works. 
Type Of Art Artistic/Creative Exhibition 
Year Produced 2018 
Impact The exhibition brought the research concepts concerning the impact for the individual of being known in translation in large proportions of everyday and professional life to a wider audience in a medium that was culturally coherent with the visual orientation of signing peoples. 
URL https://sites.manchester.ac.uk/artviatds/art/
 
Title Touchbase Gallery Birmingham, Exhibition 
Description The translating the deaf self art works were displayed in a public exhibition as part of a national tour raising awareness of the project, its foundational research from the original translating the deaf self project and displaying the resultant art works. 
Type Of Art Artistic/Creative Exhibition 
Year Produced 2018 
Impact The exhibition brought the research concepts concerning the impact for the individual of being known in translation in large proportions of everyday and professional life to a wider audience in a medium that was culturally coherent with the visual orientation of signing peoples. 
URL https://sites.manchester.ac.uk/artviatds/art/
 
Title Translating cultures in 100 objects - artistic donation 
Description AHRC have developed a curated online exhibition of their theme area 'translating cultures' through 100 objects/artefacts donated by chosen research projects that have benefited from this themed funding. We donated and wrote a commentary on a sequence of 4 paintings produced as part of the translating the deaf self project. 
Type Of Art Artefact (including digital) 
Year Produced 2019 
Impact A recognition of the significance of deaf ways of seeing and deaf artistic production within the wider scope of translating cultures. 
 
Title Whitechapel Gallery London Exhibition 
Description The translating the deaf self art works were displayed in a public exhibition as part of a national tour raising awareness of the project, its foundational research from the original translating the deaf self project and displaying the resultant art works. 
Type Of Art Artistic/Creative Exhibition 
Year Produced 2018 
Impact The exhibition brought the research concepts concerning the impact for the individual of being known in translation in large proportions of everyday and professional life to a wider audience in a medium that was culturally coherent with the visual orientation of signing peoples. 
URL https://sites.manchester.ac.uk/artviatds/art/
 
Title Whitespace Gallery Edinburgh Exhibition 
Description The translating the deaf self art works were displayed in a public exhibition as part of a national tour raising awareness of the project, its foundational research from the original translating the deaf self project and displaying the resultant art works. 
Type Of Art Artistic/Creative Exhibition 
Year Produced 2018 
Impact The exhibition brought the research concepts concerning the impact for the individual of being known in translation in large proportions of everyday and professional life to a wider audience in a medium that was culturally coherent with the visual orientation of signing peoples. 
URL https://sites.manchester.ac.uk/artviatds/art/
 
Description This award has led to co-creation of new knowledge about the relationship between being translated and known through translation from the perspective of deaf BSL users, hearing non-signers and also the interpreters who are responsible for mediating communication between deaf and hearing people. The analysis has provided new perspectives on what it feels like for deaf and non-signing hearing people to interact and get to know each other through interpreters, and in particular the impact on wellbeing for deaf signers and whether 'being translated' should be considered as part of the deaf cultural lived experience.
Exploitation Route Training for sign language interpreters, professional development training for deaf professionals, deaf awareness training for non-signing hearing professionals who work with deaf people. Displays of artwork in exhibitions or other forms
Sectors Communities and Social Services/Policy,Healthcare,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections
URL https://sites.manchester.ac.uk/artviatds/
 
Description To date the findings have been used primarily in training sign language interpreting students and also providing professional development training to professional sign language interpreter practitioners. With the Follow-on Funding project, the findings have also created social and cultural impact on members of the UK signing deaf community through various forms of artwork that were created to represent the concept of the translated deaf self, which were then shared with the community and general public through a series of exhibitions throughout the country. They are now available to view online through an online photographic exhibition on the legacy website from the project.
First Year Of Impact 2018
Sector Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections,Other
Impact Types Cultural,Societal,Policy & public services
 
Description Member of Scottish Government Working Group on BSL and Justice
Geographic Reach Local/Municipal/Regional 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
Impact The UK has proposed a new Bill that will allow deaf people to serve as jury members using sign language interpreters.
 
Description Prof Jemina Napier - Dept of Work and Pensions Market Review of Access to Work and Interpreting
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to a national consultation/review
 
Description Prof Jemina Napier - Member of World Federation of the Deaf Expert Group on Accessibility
Geographic Reach Multiple continents/international 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
 
Description AHRC Follow on Funding
Amount £60,747 (GBP)
Funding ID AH/R003750/1 
Organisation Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 01/2018 
End 09/2018
 
Description Applied Collaborative Research Scheme
Amount £50,000 (GBP)
Organisation Scottish Graduate School for Arts and Humanities (SGSAH) 
Sector Academic/University
Country United Kingdom
Start 10/2016 
End 09/2019
 
Description Erasmus+
Amount € 200,000 (EUR)
Organisation European Commission 
Sector Public
Country European Union (EU)
Start 11/2016 
End 04/2019
 
Description Follow-on Funding Scheme
Amount £60,747 (GBP)
Funding ID AH/R003750/1 
Organisation Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 01/2018 
End 09/2018
 
Title Dataset 
Description The project resulted in interviews with a total of 32 people, providing a rich corpus of data for analysis. The dataset included approximately 20 hours of data from interviews with Deaf community members, Deaf professionals, sign language interpreters, hearing people that work with Deaf colleagues, and hearing parents that have deaf children. 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Provided To Others? No  
Impact The most notable impact resulting from the development of this dataset is that there is evidence for perceptions of the experiences of 'being translated', which informs theoretical frameworks concerning Deaf culture. 
 
Title Stimulated Recall interviews 
Description The collection of data in this project also involved the use of Stimulated Recall Interviews (SRIs) which have been used for the first time in this project with Deaf sign language users to examine their perceptions of 'being translated' and wellbeing. SRIs have been previously used in translation and interpreting studies, and specifically more recently in sign language interpreting studies, but not in an interdisciplinary study of this kind. 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2016 
Provided To Others? No  
Impact The potential notable impact resulting from the use of the SRI data collection method is a new understanding of the suitability of the method for use in sign language research or any kind of visual methods research that involves videos. Recommendations have been made for other sign language researchers and academics using visual methods in the project research report. 
 
Description Community Participatory Group Partners 
Organisation Action Deafness
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Two of the research team - Rosemary Oram and Noel O'Connell - worked closely with Action Deafness and Deaf Connections to establish a Community Participatory Groups (CPGs). This meant that the researchers had regular contact with representatives at the community organisations in order to organise three CPG meetings at the premises of Action Deafness in Leicester and Deaf Connections in Glasgow. The CPGs were an integral part of the data generation process of the project, and were essentially focus groups with Deaf BSL users that met on three occasions.
Collaborator Contribution Action Deafness and Deaf Connections contributed to the project by recruiting Deaf BSL using members from their local Deaf communities to participate in the CPGs. They facilitated contact between the researchers and potential Deaf participants and also provided use of meeting rooms on their premises for holding the CPGs.
Impact This collaboration was multidisciplinary as it draws upon support from non-government organisations with expertise in service provision for Deaf BSL users which focus on social justice, employability and access; in combination with expertise on social research and Deaf Studies from the Social Research with Deaf People group at the University of Manchester and expertise on Translation & Interpreting Studies from Heriot-Watt University. The main outcomes from this partnership are the yield of approximately 6 hours of focus group data collected through the CPGs. As yet there are no outputs from this collaboration, but these are planned before the end of the project in July 2016.
Start Year 2015
 
Description Community Participatory Group Partners 
Organisation Deaf Connections
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Charity/Non Profit 
PI Contribution Two of the research team - Rosemary Oram and Noel O'Connell - worked closely with Action Deafness and Deaf Connections to establish a Community Participatory Groups (CPGs). This meant that the researchers had regular contact with representatives at the community organisations in order to organise three CPG meetings at the premises of Action Deafness in Leicester and Deaf Connections in Glasgow. The CPGs were an integral part of the data generation process of the project, and were essentially focus groups with Deaf BSL users that met on three occasions.
Collaborator Contribution Action Deafness and Deaf Connections contributed to the project by recruiting Deaf BSL using members from their local Deaf communities to participate in the CPGs. They facilitated contact between the researchers and potential Deaf participants and also provided use of meeting rooms on their premises for holding the CPGs.
Impact This collaboration was multidisciplinary as it draws upon support from non-government organisations with expertise in service provision for Deaf BSL users which focus on social justice, employability and access; in combination with expertise on social research and Deaf Studies from the Social Research with Deaf People group at the University of Manchester and expertise on Translation & Interpreting Studies from Heriot-Watt University. The main outcomes from this partnership are the yield of approximately 6 hours of focus group data collected through the CPGs. As yet there are no outputs from this collaboration, but these are planned before the end of the project in July 2016.
Start Year 2015
 
Description Video production partners 
Organisation AC2.Com Production
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution All members of the research team worked closely with AC2.Com Productions on the key outputs from this project in the form of three 1-2 minute video dramas in BSL on completion of all data collection and analysis stages of the project. The drama content draws upon key themes identified by the research team from the data in order to illustrate the impact on Deaf people's experiences of 'being translated' on their wellbeing. The research team worked with the production team at AC2.Com to develop the script and agree on the nature of the filmed output.
Collaborator Contribution AC2.Com contributed to the collaboration by developing the script, making recommendations for filming, recruiting suitable Deaf and hearing actors, producing, filming, editing, subtitling and delivering the video drama in several formats that are suitable for different devices.
Impact This collaboration is multi-disciplinary as it draws on expertise in Film Studies (AC2.Com), social research and Deaf Studies (Manchester) and Translation & Interpreting Studies (Heriot-Watt). The output from this partnership are the video dramas.
Start Year 2016
 
Description 'Translating the Deaf Self: Interpreting, representation and responsibility'. Webinar delivered to members of the Association of Sign Language Interpreters UK. 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact This webinar was tailored to sign language interpreters to give an overview of the findings of focus groups with interpreters, hearing people and deaf professionals on their perspectives on the experiences of deaf people only being 'known' through translation, with respect to the perceptions of mediated communication as a consistently recurring condition in Deaf people's lives and responses to that sociological, linguistic and cultural condition. There was a particular focus on what interpreters can learn from deaf and hearing people's perceptions of their experiences, and what interpreters have to say about their sense of responsibility in this context.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
 
Description 'Translating the Deaf Self: Interpreting, representation and responsibility. Professional development workshop presented to the TENUTO Flemish Sign Language interpreting association, Antwerp. 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact This workshop seminar was tailored to sign language interpreters to give an overview of the findings of focus groups with interpreters and deaf people on their perspectives on the experiences of deaf people only being 'known' through translation, with respect to the perceptions of mediated communication as a consistently recurring condition in Deaf people's lives and responses to that sociological, linguistic and cultural condition. There was a particular focus on what interpreters can learn from deaf people's perceptions of their experiences, and what interpreters have to say about their sense of responsibility in this context.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
 
Description Blog/vlog post 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact The blogpost was written in English and also a version produced in BSL. It was co-authored with Dr Annelies Kusters, and directly linked the Translating the Deaf Self project with Dr Kusters' experience of being a deaf professional and being known through translation.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL http://lifeinlincs.org/?p=2436
 
Description Community engagement 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Study participants or study members
Results and Impact The project team gave several presentations in forums targeted at the British Deaf community, in order to share the research findings with community members in BSL.

1) EdSign lecture in Edinburgh, which is a series jointly offered by Heriot-Watt University with the University of Edinburgh and Queen Margaret University to share information about any research related to deafness and sign language topics. EdSign lectures are held monthly and are typically attended by 20-30 Deaf community members. The lectures are also live streamed through Google Hangout, meaning that the lectures reach a wider audience. The project team gave an EdSign lecture in May 2016.

2) British Deaf Association congress. This took place in July 2016 in Torquay and it is the key community engagement event for the British Deaf community, which is also attended by a range of stakeholders including service providers, interpreters, teachers of the deaf, parents with deaf children and third sector organisations. The project team delivered a presentation as part of the conference programme.

3) The team gave a presentation to 75 people at the Derby Deaf Club in September 2016 in order to disseminate the findings and show the three videos that were created as outputs from the project. This gave the team the opportunity to discuss the findings and generate further data.

4) The team gave a presentation about the project as part of a series of research presentations for the Deaf community in honour of deaf Scottish woman, Lilian Lawson, receiving an Honorary Doctorate from Heriot-Watt University in recognition of her work in advocating for the needs of the deaf BSL users, and her initiation of the BSL (Scotland) Bill (which was enacted in September 2015). This presentation took place in November 2016.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016
URL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DKtUipGT3U
 
Description Conference presentations 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact In 2016 and 2017 the project team have given/ will give several conference presentations, as follows:

1) Oram, R., Napier, J., Young, A., & Skinner, R., (2016). Critical links between Deaf culture, well being and interpreting: Translating the Deaf Self. Poster presented to the Critical Link 8: Interpreting in the Community Conference, Edinburgh, 29 June - 1 July 2016.
This conference is attended by professional interpreters, interpreter educators, researchers, and other stakeholders including policymakers and service providers.

2) Napier, J., Oram, R., Skinner, R., & Young, A. (2016). Translating the Deaf Self: Deaf culture in practice and being 'known' through interpreting. Association of Sign Language Interpreters UK Conference, Newcastle, 1-2 October 2016.
This conference is attended by professional sign language interpreters, as well as Deaf community members and service providers.

3) Napier, J., Oram, R., Young, A., Skinner, R. & O'Connell, N. (2016). Translating the Deaf Self: An example of innovation in university-community research engagement. Bridging the Gap conference, Brighton, 12th November 2016.
This conference is attended by Deaf Studies academics, professional sign language interpreters, and Deaf community members.

4) Napier, J., Young, A., Oram, R., & Skinner, R. (abstract accepted). Translating the Deaf Self: The lived experience of being 'known' through interpreting. Symposium on Sign Language Interpreting & Translation Research, Gallaudet University, Washington, DC, March 2017.
This conference is attended by professional sign language interpreters, and sign language interpreting academics, teachers and researchers.

5) Young, A., Napier, J., & Oram, R. (abstract submitted to call for papers). How are deaf people perceived in the workplace by their hearing colleagues? 3rd World Federation of the Deaf Conference, Budapest, Hungary.
This conference is attended by Deaf community members, service providers, professional sign language interpreters, and Deaf Studies academics.







We also have plans to submit to present at the British Society of Mental Health and Deafness conference in June 2016 in Manchester.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016,2017
 
Description Conference presentations 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact In 2017 the project team have given conference presentations, as follows:
1) Napier, J., Young, A., Oram, R., & Skinner, R., (2017). Translating the Deaf Self: The representation of deaf children to their teachers, ADEPT Conference, University of Edinburgh, June 2017. This conference is attended by professional interpreters, deaf educators, and educational support service providers.
2) Napier, J., Oram, R., Skinner, R., Young, A., & O'Connell, N. (2017). Translating the Deaf Self: The lived experience of being 'known' through interpreting. Symposium on Signed Language Interpretation and Translation, Gallaudet University, Washington, DC, USA, 31 March-2 April 2017.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
 
Description Conference presentations 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact In 2018 the project team have given conference presentations, as follows:
1) Napier, J., Young, A., Oram, R., & Skinner, R., (2018). Translating the Deaf Self: Translanguaging, interpreting & identities of deaf signers, T-LANG Conference, University of Birmingham, March 2018.
2) Napier, J. (2018). Translating the Deaf Self: The representation of deaf children to their teachers, Keynote address to the Australia New Zealand Conference of Educators of the Deaf, Adelaide, July 2018.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
 
Description International conference presentation 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Invited keynote presenter at the ASLIA (association of sign language interpreters Australia) biennial conference. I presented on notions of Deaf Gaze and the impact of Covid-19 using some materials from the completed research project.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Jemina Napier participated in interview on Kaye Adams BBC Radio Scotland talk show: January 2020 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Interview was about learning sign language, the value of sign language and multilingualism
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
 
Description Keynote presentation to the Field Research on Translation and Interpreting (FIRE-TI) International Conference (online) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Interpreting Studies as Linguistic Ethnography: New Theories, New Methods. Keynote presentation to the Field Research on Translation and Interpreting (FIRE-TI) International Conference (online), 18 February 2022. 161 international registrants of Translation & Interpreting Studies academics, postgraduate researchers to discuss about field work methods. Comments and questions in the Q&A focused on the way we can consider applying new frameworks in the study of interpreting, using the Translating the Deaf Self study as an example of combined methods. One participant emailed to say: "Just to say that I absolutely loved your talk this morning, it was fascinating, I enjoyed it very much."
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://fireti.univie.ac.at/committees-and-speakers/
 
Description LifeinLINCS Blogposts 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact LifeinLINCS is an online blog that is contributed to regularly by staff and students in the Department of Languages & Intercultural Studies at Heriot-Watt University. There are weekly blogs, and all blogposts are also distributed via Facebook and Twitter. The blog is also used to provide updates on research projects. The BSL researchers use the opportunity to upload links to BSL versions of blogposts so that research updates are accessible to the Deaf community. Over the life of the project, the LifeinLINCS blog included 3 updates about the Translating the Deaf Project.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016,2017
URL http://lifeinlincs.org
 
Description March 2021. An overview of the transformation of Sign Language Interpreting as profession & research, & SLIS as a transformative field 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Invited public lecture for the Centre for Sign Linguistics & Deaf Studies, Chinese University of Hong Kong. Pre-recorded lecture and then live Q&A and discussion attended by approximately 100 people who are studying, teaching or researching sign language interpreting, and sign language interpreter practitioners. Comments included new knowledge gained about the progression of sign language interpreting research and the importance of involving deaf people to discuss their experiences of working with interpreters.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Napier, J. (2019). Translating the Deaf Self. Invited presentation at Translating cultures: Lessons, legacies and future directions, AHRC Translating Cultures Theme final conference, 4th-5th April 2019. 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact A presentation was given to other recipients of AHRC Translating Cultures funding as part of the final Translating Cultures Theme Conference
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
 
Description Napier, J., Young, A., & Oram, R. (2019). Visual knowing: Giving 'voice' to the translated deaf self. T-LANG Conference: Languaging in times of change. University of Stirling, September 2019. 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact A presentation to an academic conference about the findings of the main and follow-on projects, showcasing the videos and artwork created.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
 
Description Oram, R. Translating the Deaf Self. Presentation to the 4th Deaf Studies Conference, Wolverhampton University, February 2020. 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Undergraduate students
Results and Impact Presentation to a conference organised by the Deaf Studies team at Wolverhampton University for their students to practice interpreting, but also open to other key stakeholders.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
 
Description Paper accepted at the World Federation of the Deaf international conference 2019 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact This is the foremost deaf-led international conference organised by the World Federation of the Deaf. It is an outstanding platform to promote the ideas and work of the project to a large, mainly deaf, international audience of sign language users. It is highly competitive to be accepted to present work.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
 
Description Presentation at the deaf studies conference, Wolverhampton University, 2020 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Presentation to a mixture of students, interpreters, general public, researchers, members of the deaf community about the work of this proejct and its predecessor, Translating the Deaf Self.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
 
Description Public engagement event 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Jemina Napier from HWU gave presentation in collaboration with deaf community organisation Deaf Action entitled 'Deaf people and interpreters: Fostering a healthy dialogue' and drew on data from the Translating the Deaf Self project to illustrate the kinds of strategic choices that deaf people make in working with interpreters in professional contexts. Almost 60 people attended in person and 140 people online.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://vimeo.com/800992524/afa2b0d092
 
Description SORD Bulletin 
Form Of Engagement Activity A magazine, newsletter or online publication
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Third sector organisations
Results and Impact The SORD Bulletin is emailed out to all SORD members, partners, collaborators and provides regular updates on the research activities of the research group in order to inform the range of stakeholders about progress, and also to call for research participants. To date the SORD Bulletin has included 3 updates about the Translating the Deaf Project.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2015,2016
 
Description Stakeholder Advisory Group 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Third sector organisations
Results and Impact The 'Stakeholder Advisory Group' (SAG) is made of up representatives of key local, regional and national third sector organisations involved in policy development, advocacy and service provision with the Deaf community, namely:
The SAG consists of representatives from the following organisations:
Action on Hearing Loss (Scotland)
Deaf Action (Edinburgh)
Deaf Connections (Glasgow)
National Deaf Children's Society (Scotland)
British Deaf Association (Scotland)
Scottish Association of Sign Language Interpreters

The SAG acts in a monitoring and advisory capacity to the research team to ensure cultural coherence with values and priorities of the Deaf community from the ethical perspective of research studies seeking consent on a community-wide basis as well as on an individual one. The key roles of the SAG have been to:
• review the quality and relevance of the data collection technique and data analysis employed and the data proposed by the project team;
• review research project and plans
• provide advice as requested by the project team
• advise the project team on matters pertaining to recruitment of participants;
• network to promote and assist the project.

There are three planned SAG meetings during the project. Two meetings took place in June 2015 and January 2016, and the next meeting is planned in June 2016.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2015,2016
 
Description The Translating the Deaf Self project: Wrapping up and what's next? LifeinLINCS blogpost 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Blogpost wrapping up the project and outlining future plans.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
URL http://lifeinlincs.org/?p=2118
 
Description Translanguaging strategies of deaf professionals working with interpreters 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact Online public webinar delivered by invitation to the Cambridge University Linguistics Forum to a mix of academics, postgraduate and undergraduate students from Cambridge but also other universities, as well as interpreter practitioners. Estimate approx. 40 in attendance. Many questions in the discussion focused around broadening understanding of the way that deaf people choose to represent themselves when working with interpreters, and the lessons learned for practising interpreters.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://talks.cam.ac.uk/talk/index/160501
 
Description Translating the Deaf Self: Ontological (in)security and deaf culture 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Webinar delivered to the European Forum of Sign Language Interpreters presenting data from the Translating the Deaf Self project and discussing implications for interpreting practice
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022