Perceptions of Non-Deaf Parties in a Student Interpreted Transaction

Judgements about people are formed based on how ideas are communicated. In an interpreted interaction, Deaf and non-deaf people are judged via the interpreter. This quantitative study examined non-deaf participants and supervising interpreters’ perceptions during an interpreted interaction by an interpreting intern student. Students scored well in presenting self-confidence, professional appearance, and adhering to the role of an interpreter in the setting where the interaction took place. Students also used effective volume and clear speech but were found to be less confident in their way of speaking. Non-deaf participants’ perceptions of Deaf participants varied by student but held significantly lower perceptions of the Deaf participants’ degree of pleasantness, sophistication, credibly and determinateness than the intern supervisor. Findings suggest that students enrolled in interpreting programs need to be aware of how interpretations can impact the perceptions of consumers and take a required discourse analysis course in an interpreting programs.