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Article published In:
Unpacking Sign Language Interpreting: Special issue of the Journal on Translation and Interpreting Studies 17:3 (2022)
Edited by Hilde Haualand, Maartje De Meulder and Jemina Napier
[Translation and Interpreting Studies 17:3] 2022
► pp. 429–454

Interpreters as agents of language planning

ORCID logo | Victoria University of Wellington
ORCID logo | Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Sign language interpreters onstage at public and political events have recently become more visible in the linguistic landscapes of many countries. Accessibility principles and policy measures have gained traction internationally, and Deaf communities have also recently achieved formal recognition of a national sign language in many countries, including in New Zealand and Norway. Resulting discourses of language planning and of access are now converging to position sign language interpreters as simultaneously agents of language planning (specifically, prestige and image planning) and as instruments of accessibility. This article interrogates the ideological context (motives, beliefs, practices) and perceived effects of increasing interpreter presence in public arenas in New Zealand and Norway, based on interview data from interpreters, interpreting service users and providers, and Deaf informants.

Keywords: sign language interpreting, ideology, language planning, accessibility, linguistic landscape
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • SLI through a language policy and planning lens
  • Interpreting and sign language status in New Zealand and Norway
  • Method
  • Types of events interpreted
    • Selection of events to be interpreted
  • Deaf perspectives on impacts of public event interpreting
  • Motives for engaging SLIs
    • Accessibility
    • Tokenism
    • Language representation
  • Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 6 March 2023
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/tis.21041.mck
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Cited by (2)

Cited by 2 other publications

De Meulder, Maartje & Nienke Sijm
2024. “I feel a bit more of a conduit now”: Sign language interpreters coping and adapting during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Interpreting and Society 4:1 ► pp. 3 ff. DOI logo
McKee, Rachel & Mireille Vale
2023. Recent lexical expansion in New Zealand Sign Language: context, scope and mechanisms. Current Issues in Language Planning ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo

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