The coronavirus pandemic dramatically increased the visibility of American Sign Language interpreters. Interpreters seem to be everywhere — on television in governors’ news conferences and at state and municipal health meetings.
That media presence might lead to a quick conclusion that ASL (signing) interpreters for the deaf are ubiquitous. Such a conclusion would be wrong. In fact, quite the opposite is true.
Courts and hospitals struggle to provide interpreters for those who need them. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, demand for deaf interpreters is growing; through 2028, the need for interpreters is expected to increase by 19%.
Not only is there a shortage of interpreters for hospitals, courtrooms and schools, the knowledge of ASL is scant among the general population who are not deaf. Statistics aren’t good on the number of ASL users, but estimates peg the number at between 250,000 and 500,000, according to a study published in Sign Language Studies. The number of deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals in the United States is about 3.6% of the population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, roughly 11.8 million people.
Some three dozen states give high school credit for students taking ASL courses as a foreign language. That’s a start, but the number needs to get to 50.
School systems can make a huge difference to increase knowledge and fluency in ASL by offering more ASL classes in high schools and acknowledging the credit for what it is — another language. States should consider implementing pilot programs to teach ASL in elementary schools.
Too many deaf Americans not only lack interpreters in formal settings, but also face the inability to communicate with most of their fellow Americans. Both problems should be addressed for the benefit of both the hearing-impaired and those with hearing — there’s always a lot to learn from our fellow men and women. The lack of ASL knowledge excludes that mutual exchange from happening.
The pandemic has effectively eliminated another tool deaf people often use to communicate — lip reading. You can’t lip read through a mask and lip reading is not the effective tool of communication and understanding that ASL provides. The margin of error in lip reading is considerable and the skill is far more difficult to acquire than learning ASL.
States should pursue educational programs to grow the numbers of signers in the non-deaf population. That alone will spur some people who have the knack to become professional interpreters. And the interpreters wouldn’t be needed if, one day, we all could talk to each other.
First Published: January 20, 2021, 5:00 a.m.
