ASL Is Not English: Legal Linguistic Nuance
Out of the 340 million people living in the U.S., the deaf and hard of hearing community is a relatively small one, with about 30 million people ages 12 or older experiencing hearing loss in both ears as of 2024. Nevertheless, these individuals deserve to be accurately represented when communicating with hearing individuals. That’s why it’s so important for interpreters to understand the linguistic nuances of the language.
A Language in Its Own Right
There is a common misconception that ASL, though short for American Sign Language, is simply English translated into hand signals. While it does have some similarities with English, it is important to note that ASL is a language in its own right, one that developed independently of English linguistic influence. One of the most noticeable aspects of the language is its distinct grammar, often following SVO (subject + verb + object) or SOV (subject + object + verb) sentence structure, depending on what needs to be expressed.
An instance displaying the detailed nature of ASL was the Clarence Cepheus Taylor Case, in which the inaccurate expression of the deaf defendant’s words gave the impression that he admitted his guilt, when in reality, he was speaking hypothetically. Seemingly minor mistakes such as the omission of small words like “if” can completely derail the projection of a legal proceeding and get in the way of justice. Instances like this demonstrate that conditional statements in ASL are much more delicate than in English and require high levels of competence in both interpreting and cultural proficiency.
The Bilingual vs Certified Interpreter Dilemma
While we encourage the learning of other languages to foster cross-cultural fluency, high-stakes legal and medical proceedings should be left to professional, certified interpreters who are well versed in the intricacies of the language. There is also the ethical concern that blunders like that of the Clarence Cepheus Taylor Case can come across as partisan acts, deviating from the code of impartiality, when it was likely just a technical mishap.
Our Commitment to Equal and Accurate Representation
At Kaplan Interpreting Services, we pride ourselves on our ability to connect you with certified ASL interpreters who are well trained in the linguistic, social, and cultural subtleties that occur during legal proceedings, medical visits, business meetings, and other interactions. Our interpreters understand ASL for the unique language that it is and interpret it as such because we believe people have the right to be represented thoroughly and accurately, regardless of background or ability.
CEO & Founder
Born in Dallas, Texas, Alexandra grew up surrounded by Spanish, English, Arabic, and Italian. After moving to Venezuela, Spanish became her primary language. She holds a Master's in Healthcare Administration from Washington University in St. Louis and is a California court certified and medical interpreter.
She founded Kaplan Interpreting Services after seeing an industry that treated interpreters as interchangeable and clients as ticket numbers. She built a protocol-driven operation where every interpreter is hand-selected and credentialed for the specific setting, every client has a dedicated point of contact, and risk management is built into every assignment.
Her career reached a historic milestone when she interpreted the conversation between President-elect Biden and Pope Francis. That assignment, along with engagements for Nike and the Summit of the Americas, set the standard for every client engagement that followed.
"The same protocols that protected that historic conversation now protect every assignment we handle."