Governor's Office of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Resources

Interpreter, CART, C-Print, Typewell, Captioning Services, Cued Speech

Sign Language Interpreting

Hands signing Sign language interpreting makes communication possible between people who are deaf or hard of hearing and people who can hear. Interpreting is a complex process that requires a high degree of linguistic, cognitive and technical skills in both English and American Sign Language (ASL). Sign language interpreting, like spoken language interpreting, involves more than simply replacing a word of spoken English with a signed representation of that English word. ASL has its own grammatical rules, sentence structure and cultural nuances. Interpreters must thoroughly understand the subject matter in which they work so that they are able to convert information from one language, known as the source language, into another, known as the target language. In addition, interpretations can incorporate cultural information associated with the languages used.

Cued Speech

Person pointing at their troat

Cued Speech is a mode of communication based on the phonemes and properties of traditionally spoken languages. Cueing allows users who are deaf or hard of hearing or who have language/communication disorders to access the basic, fundamental properties of spoken languages through the use of vision.

Oral Transliteration

Oral transliterators, also called oral interpreters, facilitate spoken communication between individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing and individuals who are not. Individuals who are “oralists” use speech and speechreading as their primary mode of communication and may or may not know or use manual communication modes or sign language. Each oral deaf/hard of hearing consumer has specific preferences for successful communication, thereby requiring transliterators to work within a continuum of service provision. In the strictest sense, oral transliteration does not usually include the use of formal sign language. However, transliterators respond to requests by consumers to add natural gesture; fingerspell particular words; write numbers or the beginning letter of a word that is easily misread in the air; and/or use signs to support words on the mouth. Oral transliterators may also “voice” for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing as these individuals may not use their own voices or their voices are difficult for listeners to understand. Oral transliteration should be provided by transliterators who are qualified, trained professionals.

CART

People at a conference

Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) is word-for-word instant speech-to-text translation provided on scene in just about any venue. A stenographer listens to what is being said and then types it on the stenograph machine, which is hooked to computer and a screen where the words appear for anyone to read.

C-Print

C Print Logo

Primarily used in educational settings, C-Print® was developed at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) to convert spoken messages into text. A C-Print® typist, specially trained in text-condensing strategies types on a laptop computer using an abbreviation system. The text is displayed on one or more student computer (laptop) monitors. The transcriber does not provide a verbati m transcript but does provide a “meaning-for-meaning” rendition of the spoken English content.

TypeWell

TypeWell used most often in schools, is a communication method to provide a “meaning-for-meaning” form of spoken English into English printed text on a laptop computer. Students read the “real time” text on a second laptop. The student’s laptop can also be used for note taking and turn taking. Transcribers are specially trained on licensed software provided by TypeWell.

Captioning

Closed captioning logo

Captions are text versions of spoken words and auditory sounds onto visual media. Although primarily used by deaf and hard of hearing people, captions now have a wider audience including second language learners and people with learning disabilities. Captions can also provide descriptions of background sounds, such as “music playing” or “phone ringing.”

There are two kinds of captioning, open and closed. Open captions are similar to subtitles always appearing on screen. Closed captions are carried in the television signal hidden from the user until “opened” or “decoded” to be used.