Sarah Trevino

1/18/15
Discourse Analysis
Prof. Winston
Reflection Interpreters as Applied Linguists and Introduction to Discourse
Analysis

Though you would not expect these two pieces of work to be similar at all,
there are a few similarities between the article Interpreters as Applied Linguists
and our course introduction. The introduction, of course, introduces us to the class,
explains the goal of the class and presents to us some questions that we should
keep in mind throughout the class such as How does this topic apply to ASL? and
How is this language function expressed in ASL?. The introduction also explains to
us the difference between form and function and how we would use each when
analyzing language. Clear introduction! New paragraph needed
One part that really stuck out to me was the part in which they state In order to
effectively communicate in ASL and English, interpreters must be able to produce
both languages as they are used in everyday communication. This is true for
interpreters of any language. A language student who can merely introduce
themselves, maybe describe themselves a little bit isnt going to get very far, but
they are just that, a student. They are not expected to be a professional, one who
can easily communicate back and forth between two languages. The ability to
produce language as used in everyday communication is a complicated skill, but
one definitely necessary for an interpreter. The student can catch vocabulary,
maybe play around with grammar but the interpreter needs to know how to
understand meaning, idioms, maybe even slang. Idioms and slang are ways to
reflect meaning These are forms and functions that are used in everyday
communication that require more than a basic understanding of the language.
New paragraph needed Another part I found interesting was the part where it said
that Interpreting is discourse analysis in action which is again, so true.
Interpreting is a very quick version of analyzing ones discourse from L1 to L2.
Which was an idea that was touched on in Interpreters as Applied Linguists when
it mentions that peoples language usage maybe be wrong, uneducated, dialectal
etc. and experiencing that language leads us to presume that we know what a
person is like . See when youre analyzing what a person says, regardless of if
youre interpreting it from language to another or not, you are also analyzing what
kind of person they may be. This is an issue interpreters are warned to stay away
from and use our experiences to combat these presumptions we may

develop.astute observation! These presumptions can lead to language superiority,

but we as interpreters do not want to develop that because it could really affect our
interpretations. If we believe a client is using uneducated language we could start
interpreting it in a very low-register even if that is not what is called for in the
situation. We want to remain faithful to the message and create equivalence, but
based on the person and the situation, not on our belief of the kind of person they
may be based on a poor language choice. Specific example? That is why, we as
interpreters want to learn and experience ways of being able to move past the
presumptions and either disprove them or support them, but not categorize the
person or people we are interpreting for.
Sarah,

You have made an excellent beginning on this essay! You have included astute
observations

More thorough proofreading is needed

References need to be complete--use APA and ask for support from the
writing center if needed for these kinds of references

References?