ASL/English Interpreting, associate degree

Portland Community College

A sign language interpreter takes the language of one person and relays it as accurately as possible in another language, working from American Sign Language (ASL) to English or English to ASL. Interpreting the thoughts and feelings of another person involves a complex set of skills. Learning this complex set of skills requires developing multicultural knowledge and bilingual skills in both ASL and English. Interpreters also need to understand specialized discourse, nuances of language, and ethical implications of decisions made in the course of interpreting.