Interpreting, Categories of

Beginning in the late 1960s, North America saw the emergence of signed language interpreting as a profession. Since that time, interpreting has developed to serve Deaf and nondeaf consumers in a variety of contexts. Therefore, this article will review the ways in which interpreting might be categorized. One of the significant changes within the profession has been the ways in which American Sign Language–English interpreters are trained for the work. The earliest training programs were short, intensive programs of just a few weeks or months. As knowledge about interpreting grew and the demand for qualified interpreters increased, colleges developed 2-year programs, and more recently universities have begun offering bachelor’s degrees in interpreting. Less commonly, some universities also offer master’s and doctoral programs in interpreting.

As training ...