Accurate Interpretation for the Deaf

Church interpreters have a special responsibility of being Biblically accurate in their interpretation of the Bible or sermon, or teaching.

Normal interpretation on most things can take on some dynamic equivalency without loss of meaning. However, whenever interpretation involves the Bible, it is important that it is accurate. The challenge is that the hearing Christian world has developed a special vocabulary outside of the Bible. This vocabulary contains many "big words" which often stand for complex teachings of the Church, or foundational truths from Scripture. This presents a problem for those who are Deaf and whose primary language is American Sign Language. This is because ASL is a language based on what is concrete rather than on an intellectual concept as can be the case with English. Indeed, I propose that ASL is closer to ancient Hebrew in construct than it is to English. It would help the Interpreter to keep Hebrew in mind while translating from English to ASL. How can you define a "big word" as a picture, story or relationship? There is a need, I think, for an ASL gloss to be developed for these big words, ie. transfiguration, Trinity and the like.