Module 11 Language and Cultural Deprivation

Going further . . .

Language deprivation occurs due to a chronic lack of full access to a natural language during the critical period of childhood language acquisition (approximately the first five years of a child’s life). Language deprivation during this critical period appears to have permanent consequences (Hall, 2017). As interpreters, we are working with diverse deaf individuals who may have experienced some type of language deprivation.

This directly impacts interpreting as it is compounded by the fact that interpreters have their own disfluencies in language depending on their native language(s) and the language(s) they are working into. Going further, this same idea applies when interpreters are working with individuals from cultures and backgrounds other than their own. It is likely interpreters are the ones lacking the fund of knowledge to work effectively within certain cultural contexts.

How interpreters navigate working with individuals with the lived experience of language deprivation and/or cultural-linguistic deprivation requires deep analysis. This analysis requires introspectively looking at one’s own understanding of these concepts and how one can move forward in providing interpretations that are equivalent and culturally affirming.

To further your understanding of language deprivation and cultural-linguistic deprivation, review the following resources. Note that this review may take up to two hours of your time, plan accordingly.

Videos

Language Deprivation by Wyatte Hall

Subtitles available via video settings

It’s you, not me!: Black Deaf People’s Experience of Cultural-Linguistic Deprivation by Gloshanda Lawyer, Kenton Myers, Candace Jones, and Reginald Bess

English version | Spanish version