Social and private speech in an interpreted meeting of deafblind persons

Abstract

The article explores how the distinction between egocentric and social speech affects the dynamics of interpreter-mediated interaction, during a meeting among five deafblind board members in Norway. Extracts from a videotape of the meeting were analysed, with a specific focus on two sequences of exchanges involving a board member (Inger), her interpreter and the rest of the group. Inger uses Norwegian Tactile Sign Language with her interpreter, who in turn uses spoken Norwegian and Norwegian Sign Language with the rest of the group. The analysis shows that, while most of Inger’s utterances were social and oriented to the other board members, some were of a private nature and directed only to herself. The interpreter evaluated Inger’s communicative project constantly and acted accordingly, interpreting the socially oriented utterances but not the private utterances. Based on these findings, the interpreter’s performance is discussed in relation not only to professional ethics but also to monological and dialogical perspectives on language and interpreting.