NAD Transliteration & Language Modalities 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: When a Deaf consumer requests a transliterator rather than an ASL interpreter, what does this indicate?
- The consumer prefers English-based signing that aligns with their English language use patterns (Correct answer)
- The consumer has lower ASL proficiency than average
- The consumer wants the interpreter to speak for them
- The consumer is hard of hearing and uses residual hearing
Correct answer: The consumer prefers English-based signing that aligns with their English language use patterns
Requesting transliteration reflects a preference for an English-based signed modality, often tied to the consumer's educational background or communication preferences.
Question 2: Which feature of ASL grammar is typically absent or reduced in contact signing?
- Spatial grammar, classifier predicates, and non-manual markers (Correct answer)
- Fingerspelling
- Directional verbs
- Initialized signs
Correct answer: Spatial grammar, classifier predicates, and non-manual markers
Contact Sign tends to use ASL vocabulary but reduces or eliminates complex ASL grammatical features like spatial grammar and non-manual markers.
Question 3: What is the role of fingerspelling in transliteration assignments?
- It is used more heavily to represent English words directly, especially for proper nouns and technical terms (Correct answer)
- It replaces all signs to ensure exact English representation
- It is avoided entirely to keep the message in signed form
- It is used only when the interpreter forgets a sign
Correct answer: It is used more heavily to represent English words directly, especially for proper nouns and technical terms
In transliteration, fingerspelling is a primary tool for rendering English words directly without substituting ASL signs.
Question 4: Oral transliteration involves:
- Silently mouthing words with slight visual cues to support a Deaf person who primarily uses speechreading (Correct answer)
- Whispering the spoken message to a Deaf person
- Interpreting between spoken English and ASL without voice
- Using cued speech to represent phonemes
Correct answer: Silently mouthing words with slight visual cues to support a Deaf person who primarily uses speechreading
Oral transliteration serves Deaf individuals who rely on lipreading by carefully mouthing words with enhanced clarity, sometimes used alongside minimal gestures.
Question 5: How should an interpreter respond when a Deaf consumer code-switches between ASL and contact sign during an assignment?
- Follow the consumer's language choices and adapt fluidly to match their communication mode (Correct answer)
- Standardize to ASL throughout regardless of the consumer's shifts
- Request the consumer to choose one system and stick with it
- Switch to written communication to avoid mismatches
Correct answer: Follow the consumer's language choices and adapt fluidly to match their communication mode
Skilled interpreters adapt to the consumer's language use in real time, serving the consumer's actual communication preferences.
Question 6: Which population most commonly uses tactile ASL as their primary communication mode?
- DeafBlind individuals (Correct answer)
- Late-deafened adults
- Oral Deaf individuals
- Deaf individuals with cochlear implants
Correct answer: DeafBlind individuals
Tactile ASL is a communication mode adapted for DeafBlind individuals, where ASL signs are perceived through touch rather than sight.
NAD Transliteration & Language Modalities 2
When a Deaf consumer requests a transliterator rather than an ASL interpreter, what does this indicate?