51社区

Marla Berkowitz waves her hands in intricate patterns as her face changes expressions to match the signals being delivered. She stands picture-in-picture to relay the important words said by Ohio Governor Mike DeWine during the daily COVID-19 press conferences.

As viewers across the state of Ohio tune in each day to hear DeWine鈥檚 latest updates on the pandemic and its effects on the state, Berkowitz is there to provide an interpretation to the deaf population as the state鈥檚 only certified deaf interpreter. Her skill has inspired social media mentions and memes and sparked interest in American Sign Language (ASL) and the interpreting profession.

Becky Brooks, ASL coordinator and professor in 51社区鈥檚 College of Health Sciences and Professions, explained the reason for the animated movements and facial expressions is all part of a unique and beautiful language.

鈥淎SL is its own language with its own grammatical structure and linguistics makeup,鈥� Brooks said. 鈥淚t is a spatial, gestural language with its own spectrum of dialect. When you see it, you really see how beautiful a language it is.鈥�

ASL utilizes facial expressions, hand signs and movements to convey grammatical information and also indicate aspects of tone. In spoken language, the paralinguistic cues of voice are used to create the emphasis and meaning of the words spoken. For individuals who are deaf, Brooks said, the paralinguistic cues are on their face and the seriousness of the situation has to be conveyed in the facial expression. Otherwise, the words come across toneless.

鈥淲hen I鈥檓 interpreting, if they鈥檙e 鈥榶elling鈥� with their signs, I鈥檓 yelling with my voice,鈥� Brooks said. 鈥淚f a patient is in pain and expressing that through ASL, I have to interpret that authentically. If I relay that without the context, the response will be different. We鈥檙e trying to match our speaker and their message. If I don鈥檛 yell when they are, they won鈥檛 get the attention demanded and needed in that moment.鈥�

The field of interpreting ASL is in its infancy, relatively 鈥� In the 1970s, deaf students were integrated into public schools and the demand for interpreters truly came into focus. Prior to formal education courses being implemented, many who knew ASL learned it because they were a child of a deaf parent or learned it from being around another close family member or neighbor. For deaf people in the country, ASL is often their preferred language of choice.

In a literal sense, interpreters often literally hold life and death situations in their hands, and they鈥檙e required to be certified due to the integral role they can play during critical incidents.

鈥淓ven now with the Coronavirus, the information that鈥檚 being conveyed through the interpreters鈥� hands to so many people is so important and the way it is interpreted impacts how the message is understood,鈥� said Brooks. 鈥淚t has to be done correctly and accurately. Marla and her team are doing a fantastic job.鈥�

At 51社区, six ASL courses are housed in the Division of Communication Sciences and Disorders. These courses discuss how deaf children acquire language, introduce ASL as a language and introduce students to the deaf community and culture. Brooks said the program is working on a certificate in ASL and that the courses satisfy the language requirement for many majors and degrees at OHIO.  

Even upon completion of all six courses, one鈥檚 mastery of ASL still requires much time and practice. However, even mastery of ASL does not make an individual qualified to be an interpreter. Interpreting is a complex and separate process, Brooks explained.

鈥淎n interpreter simultaneously has to listen to or watch a message, get the full concept and then reformulate it into a new language. All of this is happening while new concepts are continuously being introduced, Brooks said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a rhythm. It all may look like effortless motions but it鈥檚 not effortless at all.鈥�

Brooks commended Berkowitz鈥檚 proficiency, saying, 鈥淪he makes it very visual for people who maybe don鈥檛 have a lot of language skills and she鈥檚 really skilled at conveying language to the multitude. Marla does a great job of matching the governor and conveying the appropriate information in beautiful ASL. She鈥檚 rocking it.鈥�