Involving Hearing People and Organizations in Sign Language Translations: Some Ethical Considerations

Through the ages Deaf people have been oppressed by hearing people. They have been regarded as mentally disabled, or dumb, have been denied basic human rights, and their language has been considered inferior to spoken/written languages. Although in the past 60 years linguists have discovered that sign languages are full-fledged, natural languages, there are still many prejudices among hearing people around the world when it comes to sign language.

What does this mean for translation projects in sign languages? What role can hearing people play? What should hearing BT orgaizations and funders be aware of? In many parts of the world Deaf education is of poor quality, and as a result Deaf children do not learn to read or write well. In many translation projects Deaf people therefore need the input of hearing persons to help with exegesis, checking and writing reports to funders. How can hearing people work with the Deaf in such a way that they are empowered? Where there are no churches for the Deaf, how can the church be involved? Can church-based Bible translation take place in situations where there are no Deaf people with enough knowledge of the Bible and exegesis to do quality checking? What if hearing church leaders have an opinion on what a Bible translation in a sign language should look like, even though they have little or no knowledge of how a sign language works? This presentation will look at ethical considerations when it comes to translations into sign languages and the involvement of hearing people. It will be based on issues that Deaf people around the world have encountered.