Bryan Rodrigues

On Monday June 18, 2007, the Trinidad Express ran an article titled “UWI to offer degrees in sign language”. The article which was supposed to speak about the Deaf and Sign Language in the Internet version contained four short sentences on both topics and then focussed on disabilities in general in some healthier looking lines.  No wonder people sometimes ask if Sign Language is Braille.
Here is what Bryan Rodrigues had to say:

I am so glad that UWI will make available a diploma/degree Sign Language and interpreter programme so people can be interested in teaching Deaf children and adults.

However, if it’s only Hearing people’s idea how to structure the Sign Language programme or how to solve the Deaf education problem, it will not be successful.

Deaf people must teach the Sign Language students, explain how to improve Deaf schools and the difference between Trinidad and Tobago Sign Language (TTSL) and American Sign Language (ASL). Older Deaf people use old signs (TTSL), while younger Deaf use both ASL AND TTSL.

Then when a Hearing person wants to become an interpreter Deaf persons must be there for the exam and to evaluate them. In the American system for persons to become an interpreter is very strict.

They must do basic and advanced Sign Language, learn about Deaf Culture, Deaf Education, work and visit with Deaf groups for extra credit, work with Deaf people a lot and take an exam from Deaf persons.

The interpreters I met in America signed just like Deaf persons. These interpreters signed exactly what the teachers said. They did not just put it into English but used Deaf Sign Language (ASL), which is different from English.

Here the diploma/degree must do both ASL and TTSL. Our Deaf people don’t want the lives of new Deaf children to be wasted with poor education.

My experience twenty years ago is the same now. I hope the government will put the right things at UWI. Then Deaf education will improve and we will have skilled interpreters.