Recently conducted survey of indian sign language interpreters. authored by Jennifer Smith.

1. Membership Survey
2010
Indian Association of Sign Language Interpreters
Association of Sign Language Interpreters (ASLI)
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2. Membership Survey
ASLI was founded in 2007 and has experienced a steadily growing membership. It was felt that it was
an appropriate time to conduct a membership survey to find out who the members of ASLI are and
what they require from their membership and the profession.
From February to June 2010 a survey was filled out by the members of ASLI. 49 people completed
the survey. The survey was available in English and Hindi. Some members filled out the survey at the
National Conference in February. For those that could not attend the conference or joined ASLI after
February, the survey was filled out over the telephone or by email. Every effort was made to contact
members who did not have access to the conference or a computer. A small number of people who
filled out the survey were conference attendees and not yet members of ASLI.
The report will follow the sections of the survey and report on the responses of members using
graphics and explanations:
About ASLI Members
Of the 49 respondents, 10 were male and 39 female. 31 members, or 63%, stated they had
Deaf people in their family. The pie chart below shows the representation of ages of ASLI
members:
Association of Sign Language Interpreters (ASLI)
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3. The figures show a high number of people have Deaf people in their family which is expected in an
emerging profession and that many interpreters are female. This indicates that the majority of
interpreters started interpreting for family and have now started to interpret for other Deaf people
in their community. The pie chart shows a trend towards younger people being involved in
interpreting. This could be due to them having less family commitments or more time with which to
assist others.
Interpreting Work and Experience
Of the member’s responses, 38 were already working and 11 wanted to work as a Sign Language
Interpreter. As the chart below shows the biggest problems faced by Indian Sign Language
Interpreters, in order, are a lack of recognition, a lack of accessible training, a lack of payment for
work and a lack of recognition of Deaf rights. ASLI continues to represent and campaign for its
members on these wider issues that hamper the development of the profession and therefore
access to interpreters for Deaf people.
Association of Sign Language Interpreters (ASLI)
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4. Questions were asked to identify how many hours members spent interpreting every week, how
many years they had been interpreting for and how many different Deaf people they interpreted for.
The answers are displayed in the pie charts below:
These results show that either people interpret in their spare time for only a few hours per week or
they have a full time job interpreting for an organisation and interpret for over 18 hours per week.
Association of Sign Language Interpreters (ASLI)
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5. The chart shows that some ASLI members are very experienced with 9 members having over 20
years of work as an interpreter. The experienced members (over 7 years) were over half those that
repsonded to the survey. Of the rest of the members, some had been working for a few years
already. This shows a good spread between newer members, still learning how to interpret and
those that have worked and gained knowledge of the profession. This is a strength of the Association
that will help it to develop in future years.
The members who responded are mostly interpreting for a good variety of Deaf people which
reflects the fact that ASLI has experienced interpreters as part of its membership. For the newer
members, having a wide variety of clients will help to ensure they develop into well-rounded
professionals.
The next question was asked to ascertain in which fields members worked. The results show that
only a few interpret in the arts as it is a new domain. Not many members stated they interpreted in
the religious domain although more stated they interpreted at social events which included some
religious events. Only a few people interpret in television as there is currently only seven minutes
per week of sign language interpreting on television which is the one news programme broadcast on
a Sunday. Only a few stated they had interpreted for video relay services (VRS) as video interpreting
via webcams and the internet is a relatively new service. Most interpreters had worked in education,
health and at both formal and informal meetings. The most surprising results were nine interpreters
stated they worked for the court and 14 for the police. This highlights a need for more access to
training to ensure people have the specialist skills to work in these areas.
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6. Language Proficiency
Of the interpreters surveyed most stated they were proficient in Hindi and Indian Sign Language
(ISL). Some stated they had between an intermediate and advanced use of American Sign Language.
About half had advanced English with the rest having moderate or intermediate levels of English.
Of the other state languages of India there were at least one or two interpreters who stated they
spoke the following languages at advanced or intermediate levels: Punjabi, Marathi, Teluga,
Rajastani, Kannada, Malyalam and Tamil. This confirms the need to introduce other state languages
into interpreter assessments, training programmes and registration so that interpreters may be able
to officially call themselves interpreters in these other languages.
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7. Training
Of the members who responded, 4 had attended a certified course, 8 had attended some training
and 33 had never had access to a training course. In the comments section of the survey, members
stated that courses were not available in their area or based on sign language training when they
were already fluent users of ISL. These courses are only available as a diploma option over three
month periods which excluded members with other commitments.
When asked about different methods of training it was apparent that interpreters wanted different
methods of delivery with different modes available. ASLI has already created a training course to be
delivered in different states to give those already fluent in ISL more access to training. This will be
delivered in the coming months.
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8. Conclusion
The survey has given a valuable insight into the membership of ASLI and the work that ASLI will aim
to undertake in the coming years.
It is heartening to see interpreters of all ages working with Deaf people, showing that ASLI and the
interpreting profession in India have the potential to develop. With younger members working
alongside experienced interpreters the profession can capitalise on skills sharing and build capacity
and knowledge from within.
Although there is a lack of recognition of the work, the rights of Deaf people, pay and accessible
training, members continue to work with Deaf people and are keen to be able to continue to
interpret. ASLI is undertaking campaign work in these areas and will work alongside Deaf people and
interpreters to improve access to interpreting and working conditions for all.
A need has been highlighted to include state languages in assessments, training programmes and
the registration of interpreters to ensure these languages are taken into account and people can
work safely in these languages.
The members already work in a wide variety of domains. In future years it is envisaged that more
interpreters and more training will be required to enable people to work efficiently in certain areas
such as the arts, television, courts and for the police. Most interpreters already work in the areas of
education, health, employment and meetings and require access to training.
The survey will be continued and developed periodically to ensure ASLI develops in line with its
members’ requirements and the access needs of Deaf people in the wider context. The survey will
be available in different languages and to newer members to ensure survey information is up to
date. ASLI has also consulted the Deaf community with regard to its wider campaign work and
continues to work closely with Deaf organisations.
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