Books by Brenda Nicodemus
The differential coding of perception in the world’s languages
Is there a universal hierarchy of the senses, such that some senses (e.g., vision) are more acces... more Is there a universal hierarchy of the senses, such that some senses (e.g., vision) are more accessible to consciousness and linguistic description than others (e.g., smell)? The long-standing presumption in Western thought has been that vision and audition are more objective than the other senses, serving as the basis of knowledge and understanding, whereas touch, taste, and smell are crude and of little value. This predicts that humans ought to be better at communicating about sight and hearing than the other senses, and decades of work based on English and related languages certainly suggests this is true. However, how well does this reflect the diversity of languages and communities worldwide? To test whether there is a universal hierarchy of the senses, stimuli from the five basic senses were used to elicit descriptions in 20 diverse languages, including 3 unrelated sign languages. We found that languages differ fundamentally in which sensory domains they linguistically code systematically, and how they do so. The tendency for better coding in some domains can be explained in part by cultural preoccupations. Although languages seem free to elaborate specific sensory domains, some general tendencies emerge: for example, with some exceptions, smell is poorly coded. The surprise is that, despite the gradual phylogenetic accumulation of the senses, and the imbalances in the neural tissue dedicated to them, no single hierarchy of the senses imposes itself upon language.
Prosody and utterance boundaries in American Sign Language interpretation
In interpreting, professionals must be able to convey to their clients the rhythm, stress, and le... more In interpreting, professionals must be able to convey to their clients the rhythm, stress, and length of phrases used by the communicating parties to indicate their respective emotional states. Such subtleties, which can signal sarcasm and irony or whether a statement is a question or a command, are defined in linguistics as prosody. Brenda Nicodemus’s new volume, the fifth in the Studies in Interpretation series, discusses the prosodic features of spoken and signed languages, and reports the findings of her groundbreaking research on prosodic markers in ASL interpretation.
In her study, Nicodemus videotaped five highly skilled interpreters as they interpreted a spoken English lecture into ASL. Fifty Deaf individuals viewed the videotaped interpretations and indicated perceived boundaries in the interpreted discourse. These identified points were then examined for the presence of prosodic markers that might be responsible for the perception of a boundary. Prosodic Markers and Utterance Boundaries reports on the characteristics of the ASL markers, including their frequency, number, duration, and timing. Among other findings, the results show that interpreters produce an average of seven prosodic markers at each boundary point. The markers are produced both sequentially and simultaneously and under conditions of highly precise timing. Further, the results suggest that the type of prosodic markers used by interpreters are both systematic and stylistic.
Advances in Interpreting Research
With the growing emphasis on scholarship in interpreting, this collection tackles issues critical... more With the growing emphasis on scholarship in interpreting, this collection tackles issues critical to the inquiry process — from theoretical orientations in Interpreting Studies to practical considerations for conducting a research study. As a landmark volume, it charts new territory by addressing a range of topics germane to spoken and signed language interpreting research. Both provocative and pragmatic, this volume captures the thinking of an international slate of interpreting scholars including Daniel Gile, Franz Pöchhacker, Debra Russell, Barbara Moser-Mercer, Melanie Metzger, Cynthia Roy, Minhua Liu, Jemina Napier, Lorraine Leeson, Jens Hessmann, Graham Turner, Eeva Salmi, Svenja Wurm, Rico Peterson, Robert Adam, Christopher Stone, Laurie Swabey and Brenda Nicodemus. Experienced academics will find ideas to stimulate their passion and commitment for research, while students will gain valuable insights within its pages. This new volume is essential reading for anyone involved in interpreting research.
Investigations in healthcare interpreting
In healthcare, the accuracy of interpretation is the most critical component of safe and effectiv... more In healthcare, the accuracy of interpretation is the most critical component of safe and effective communication between providers and patients in medical settings characterized by language and cultural barriers. Although medical education should prepare healthcare providers for common issues they will face in practice, their training often does not adequately teach the communication skills necessary to work with patients who use interpreters. This new volume in the Studies in Interpretation series addresses critical topics in communication in healthcare settings around the world.
Investigations in Healthcare Interpreting consists of ten chapters contributed by a broad array of international scholars. They address topics as diverse as the co-construction of medical conversation between interlocutors, healthcare interpretation in Ireland, and how interpreters make requests for clarification in their work. Using a variety of methodological approaches including ethnography, questionnaires, observation, and diary accounts, these scholars report on trials of simultaneous video interpreting in Austrian hospitals; direct, interpreted, and translated healthcare information for Australian deaf people; the interpretation of medical interview questions from English into ASL; and specialized psychological/psychiatric diagnostic tests for deaf and hard of hearing clients. Researchers, practitioners, and students, as well as all healthcare professionals, will find this volume to be an invaluable resource.
With the growing emphasis on scholarship in interpreting, this collection tackles issues critical... more With the growing emphasis on scholarship in interpreting, this collection tackles issues critical to the inquiry process — from theoretical orientations in Interpreting Studies to practical considerations for conducting a research study. As a landmark volume, it charts new territory by addressing a range of topics germane to spoken and signed language interpreting research. Both provocative and pragmatic, this volume captures the thinking of an international slate of interpreting scholars including Daniel Gile, Franz Pöchhacker, Debra Russell, Barbara Moser-Mercer, Melanie Metzger, Cynthia Roy, Minhua Liu, Jemina Napier, Lorraine Leeson, Jens Hessmann, Graham Turner, Eeva Salmi, Svenja Wurm, Rico Peterson, Robert Adam, Christopher Stone, Laurie Swabey and Brenda Nicodemus. Experienced academics will find ideas to stimulate their passion and commitment for research, while students will gain valuable insights within its pages. This new volume is essential reading for anyone involved in interpreting research.
Papers by Brenda Nicodemus
Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 2012
Spoken language (unimodal) interpreters often prefer to interpret from their non-dominant languag... more Spoken language (unimodal) interpreters often prefer to interpret from their non-dominant language (L2) into their native language (L1). Anecdotally, signed language (bimodal) interpreters express the opposite bias, preferring to interpret from L1 (spoken language) into L2 (signed language). We conducted a large survey study (N = 1,359) of both unimodal and bimodal interpreters that confirmed these preferences. The L1 to L2 direction preference was stronger for novice than expert bimodal interpreters, while novice and expert unimodal interpreters did not differ from each other. The results indicated that the different direction preferences for bimodal and unimodal interpreters cannot be explained by language production–comprehension asymmetries or by work or training experiences. We suggest that modality and language-specific features of signed languages drive the directionality preferences of bimodal interpreters. Specifically, we propose that fingerspelling, transcoding (literal w...
Partnerships and the Road Ahead
Springer eBooks, 2021
Mock Interpreting Scenarios
Springer eBooks, 2021
Perhaps the most daunting aspect of situated learning is the time and creative effort it takes to... more Perhaps the most daunting aspect of situated learning is the time and creative effort it takes to produce effective scenarios for the students to practice interpreting. To assist with that hurdle, in this chapter the authors provide 21 sample mock interpreting scenarios. The scenarios can be used exactly as they are written, be modified for your situation, or serve as inspiration for novel scenarios that you create on your own. Before diving into the scenarios, the authors describe the structure and offer suggestions for implementing the scenarios in your classroom or other settings.
“The committee in my head”
Translation and interpreting studies, Jul 22, 2016
Anecdotally, interpreters report experiencing self-talk before, during, and after assignments; ho... more Anecdotally, interpreters report experiencing self-talk before, during, and after assignments; however, this inner dialogue has neither been confirmed nor described in the literature. Prior studies suggest that guided self-talk can boost performance in learning and human performance activities. It follows that self-talk may also affect interpreting performance, either positively or negatively. In this study, reports of self-talk of American Sign Language-English interpreters were examined for the following characteristics: frequency, valence, overtness, self-determination, motivation, and function. Participants (N = 445) responded to online survey questions about the experience of self-talk in their interpreting work. Forfrequency, more than half of the respondents reported experiencing self-talk between 1–5 times during their work. Regardingvalence, 62% of respondents reported a mix of positive and negative self-talk about their performance. Forovertness, 62% reported talking (or signing) aloud in isolated settings about their work experiences. Regardingself-determination, nearly half of the respondents (48%) reported self-talk as a mix of conscious and unconscious thoughts. Eighty-nine percent of the respondents reported using self-talk formotivation, but 65% reported their self-talk was actually de-motivational at times. The most frequently reportedfunctionof self-talk was to improve interpreting. The findings offer a rich description of self-talk by American Sign Language-English interpreters. We suggest that more information about self-talk during interpretation may lead to greater self-awareness of the role of this phenomenon in working practitioners, as well as offer insights for the instruction of student interpreters.
Signed language interpreting and translation [Special Issue]. Translation and Interpreting Studies
Signed Language Interpreting and Translation
Translation and interpreting studies, Mar 2, 2018
The International Journal of Translation and Interpreting Research
In the interpreting profession, the term language direction (or directionality) is used to descri... more In the interpreting profession, the term language direction (or directionality) is used to describe interpreting from one’s native, dominant language (L1) into a second, non-dominant language (L2), or vice versa. Language direction has long been of interest to interpreting scholars in regards to the quality of the output. Spoken language interpreter educators have argued that high quality interpretations can only be produced when working from an L2 into an L1 (Nicodemus & Emmorey, 2013; Seleskovitch, 1978). Further, spoken language interpreters have reported a preference for working from their L2 into their L1 (Donovan, 2004). In contrast, signed language interpreters, particularly novices, report the opposite preference for language direction, that is, the majority indicate a preference to work from their L1 into their L2 (Nicodemus & Emmorey, 2013). Researchers have speculated about the factors underlying this direction asymmetry found between signed and spoken language interprete...
Situated Learning in Interpreter Education, 2021
Life is a relentless learning process. Consciously or unconsciously, people are continually bomba... more Life is a relentless learning process. Consciously or unconsciously, people are continually bombarded with stimuli that they absorb, process, and connect to what is already stored in their brains. Many scientists have pondered the evolution of organisms to acquire, consolidate, and retrieve the information that is pervasive in our environment. Some speculate that the ability to assimilate and learn from stimuli is related to context, internal states, social conditions, prior experiences, and highly developed mental processes. Critically, over millennia, organisms have developed mechanisms to learn from experience, a truly remarkable capacity of the brain's neural tissue. 1 Thus, humans are among the multitude of species that function as learning machines, engaging in an information-filtering process that has unfolded for millennia; notably, millions of people have processed vast amounts of information without the benefit of classroom instruction. In contemporary times, an individual can learn how to ride a mountain bike, prune a rose bush, repair a leaky faucet, or use the subway, all without specialized instruction. While formal training might accelerate the learning curve, most people simply live the experience of jumping on a bicycle, testing out garden shears, picking up a wrench, or venturing into a subway station. People also observe other people, mimic their behaviors, refine their own actions, pick up tips, assess their own progress, and evaluate their mistakes. To enhance their learning experience, people may rely
International Journal of Interpreter Education, 2017
Coming out of the hard of hearing closet: Reflections on a shared journey in academia
Disability Studies Quarterly, 2013
<p>Deaf academics w... more <p>Deaf academics who navigate aspects of their professional lives through signed language interpreting services face a range of issues, including handling perceptions of their Hearing peers, identifying and negotiating their own communication preferences, and balancing personal and professional relationships with their interpreters. Interpreters bring individual sets of schemas and skills to their work, which impacts the interpreted interaction. In this paper, a Deaf academic and her interpreter/colleague discuss various challenges in having an interpreter—and being an interpreter—in academia. Topics include being “outed” as a person with a disability because of the presence of an interpreter; the need for interpreters with specialized academic vocabulary; the responsibilities of the Deaf academic and the interpreter in interpreted interactions; and the sense of vulnerability, intimacy, and autonomy experienced by the Deaf academic and the interpreter. The article is a shared reflection about the evolution of a relationship, beginning with the authors’ respective roles as client and interpreter, and leading into to their present alliance as colleagues and friends.</p><p>Key words: interpretation, Deaf, academic, ethics, disability, autonomy, vulnerability, intimacy, philosophy, hard of hearing, hearing impaired, sign language, oral interpreting, American Sign Language</p><p>  </p>
Research indicates that the development of a vocational identity is critical to the process of ad... more Research indicates that the development of a vocational identity is critical to the process of adult maturation and for creating a sense of purpose in one’s life. Deaf individuals in the United States are increasingly interested in establishing a vocation in signed language interpreting, despite workplace obstacles experienced by other oppressed and marginalized populations. Career identity has been examined in several professions, but little is known about the factors underlying the vocational identity development of Deaf interpreters. To address this gap, the researchers adopted a case study approach to explore the experiences of two Deaf students during their first semester in an undergraduate interpreting program. We analyzed video recordings of interaction between the students and a Deaf instructor, the students’ responses during an end-of-semester interview, and the students’ biographical information. Taken together, the data reveal factors that shaped their paths as interpret...
Rayco H. González Montesino: One of a kind! ¡Único en su clase!
What makes Rayco H. González Montesinoone of a kind? First, Raycowasfirst person in Spain to make... more What makes Rayco H. González Montesinoone of a kind? First, Raycowasfirst person in Spain to make signed language interpreting a topic for a doctoral thesis. For his doctoral studies in Applied Linguistics from the University of Vigo, he created a didactic of available strategies for signed language interpreting as a dissertation study. Rayco has also worked as a Spanish Sign Language-Spanish interpreter since 2002, and since 2004 has worked as a signed language interpreter educator. Currently he is a professor at University Rey Juan Carlos in Madrid. We present this interview in both English and Spanish and hope you enjoy reading about our Spanish colleague as he works to advance interpreter education in Spain
International Journal of Interpreter Education, 2020
In the U.S. and other countries, deaf interpreters are increasingly providing professional interp... more In the U.S. and other countries, deaf interpreters are increasingly providing professional interpreting and translation services between one or more languages. One outcome of this trend is that deaf individuals are enrolling in educational degree programs in pursuit of training and credentials for signed language interpreters. Interpreter educators whose experience may have only been with teaching non-deaf students are now seeking to create meaningful learning experiences for their deaf students. In this article, we discuss two course assignments modified for deaf students who were enrolled in a beginning translation course at Gallaudet University and we provide the students' perspectives about the efficacy of the assignments. The aim of this article is to share ideas about creating or altering tasks to better address the needs of deaf students enrolled in interpreter education programs.
International Journal of Interpreter Education, 2015
Narrative pedagogy is an educational method that draws on the power of stories to cultivate learn... more Narrative pedagogy is an educational method that draws on the power of stories to cultivate learning. Narrative has been described as the fundamental way that individuals "make sense" of events by connecting new information to their own lived experiences. In this article, we argue that narratives are underutilized in American Sign Language-English interpreter education, perhaps due to concerns about confidentiality. This article describes an educational project that incorporated narratives from experienced medical interpreters into an interpreting course. The primary learning objective for students was to become familiar with specific competencies necessary for successful practice in medical settings. Drawing on the document "ASL-English Medical Interpreter Domains and Competencies," students individually interviewed 17 experienced medical interpreters to gain perspectives on competencies needed to interpret in medical settings. The interviews and resulting narrative data were used in the classroom to develop content knowledge about the competencies and to cultivate critical thinking regarding issues that arise in medical interpreting. We provide two samples of narratives collected by students and discuss our instructional methods with the students. We suggest that narrative pedagogy can serve as an effective instructional method in ASL-English interpreter education.
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Books by Brenda Nicodemus
In her study, Nicodemus videotaped five highly skilled interpreters as they interpreted a spoken English lecture into ASL. Fifty Deaf individuals viewed the videotaped interpretations and indicated perceived boundaries in the interpreted discourse. These identified points were then examined for the presence of prosodic markers that might be responsible for the perception of a boundary. Prosodic Markers and Utterance Boundaries reports on the characteristics of the ASL markers, including their frequency, number, duration, and timing. Among other findings, the results show that interpreters produce an average of seven prosodic markers at each boundary point. The markers are produced both sequentially and simultaneously and under conditions of highly precise timing. Further, the results suggest that the type of prosodic markers used by interpreters are both systematic and stylistic.
Investigations in Healthcare Interpreting consists of ten chapters contributed by a broad array of international scholars. They address topics as diverse as the co-construction of medical conversation between interlocutors, healthcare interpretation in Ireland, and how interpreters make requests for clarification in their work. Using a variety of methodological approaches including ethnography, questionnaires, observation, and diary accounts, these scholars report on trials of simultaneous video interpreting in Austrian hospitals; direct, interpreted, and translated healthcare information for Australian deaf people; the interpretation of medical interview questions from English into ASL; and specialized psychological/psychiatric diagnostic tests for deaf and hard of hearing clients. Researchers, practitioners, and students, as well as all healthcare professionals, will find this volume to be an invaluable resource.
Papers by Brenda Nicodemus