Interpreter’s Resource Shelf (appeared in RID VIEWS February, 2007, reprinted with permission)
Kathy MacMillan, NIC, M.L.S.
Descriptionary: A Thematic Dictionary. By Mark McCutcheon. Checkmark Books, 2005. ISBN 0-8160-5926-8. $22.95.
How do you look up a word when you know its meaning, but you don’t know the word itself? You get out your Descriptionary. Unlike a regular dictionary, this fantastic resource is arranged by subject. Twenty-four broad categories (including Animals and Insects, Electronics, Finance, Food and Drink, Medicine, Sports, and Weapons, to name a few) are further broken down into subcategories, which then list relevant terms alphabetically with their definitions. For example, if you wanted to find the name of that little plastic or metal bit at the end of your shoelace, you would just need to look in the Table of Contents to find “Clothing”, which would lead you to its sub-category, “Clothing of the 20th and 21st Centuries”, under which you’d find “Footwear” and a section entitled “Parts of a Shoe”. From there, it’s an easy skim through the terminology list to find your answer (“aglet”). Try doing that with Webster’s.
But the Descriptionary does much more. An extensive section of “Words and Expressions You Should Know” offers great study material for English vocabulary building, and the subject-based organization makes this a dictionary that’s actually interesting to read. An alphabetical index of all terms allows readers to find definitions if the word is known. With its broad scope, including urban and Mafia slang, common Internet abbreviations, and legal and military terms, this book deserves a treasured spot on the resource shelf of every interpreter. What better way to prepare for assignments than this quick and easy guide to terminology on nearly every subject.
This column appears monthly in VIEWS. Please direct questions, comments, or suggestions for resources to highlight in future issues to Kathy MacMillan at info@kathymacmillan.com.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
You Just Don’t Understand: Women and Men in Conversation
Interpreter’s Resource Shelf (appeared in RID VIEWS March, 2007, reprinted with permission)
Kathy MacMillan, NIC, M.L.S.
You Just Don’t Understand: Women and Men in Conversation. By Deborah Tannen. Harper, 2001. ISBN 0060959622. $13.95.
Of the many aspects of gender diversity, the most crucial for interpreters to understand is the differences in the ways that men and women communicate. Though there have been many books devoted to this topic published in the last ten years, none states its case so clearly as Tannen’s groundbreaking book, originally published in 1990 and available now with a new afterword from the author. Tannen stresses that men and women not only use different conversational strategies, but that they also tend to see different purposes behind the very act of communication: men tend to focus more on managing status and imparting information (“report-talk”), while women use communication to establish and reinforce relationships (“rapport-talk”). With copious examples from her research, Tannen makes a convincing case that male and female styles are so different that conversation between the genders can even be seen as cross-cultural communication. The problem, she stresses, is not with the way men talk, or with the way women talk, but with the unacknowledged difference between the two. Every interpreter who reads this book will surely be able to think of examples not only from his or her own life, but from interpreting situations that unaccountably went wrong. Tannen also points out that the English vocabulary available to describe women’s and men’s actions differ; for example, women “faint”, while men “pass out”. Interpreters of either gender would do well to make themselves aware of these dynamics, especially when interpreting for clients of the opposite gender.
This column appears monthly in VIEWS. Please direct questions, comments, or suggestions for resources to highlight in future issues to Kathy MacMillan at info@kathymacmillan.com.
Kathy MacMillan, NIC, M.L.S.
You Just Don’t Understand: Women and Men in Conversation. By Deborah Tannen. Harper, 2001. ISBN 0060959622. $13.95.
Of the many aspects of gender diversity, the most crucial for interpreters to understand is the differences in the ways that men and women communicate. Though there have been many books devoted to this topic published in the last ten years, none states its case so clearly as Tannen’s groundbreaking book, originally published in 1990 and available now with a new afterword from the author. Tannen stresses that men and women not only use different conversational strategies, but that they also tend to see different purposes behind the very act of communication: men tend to focus more on managing status and imparting information (“report-talk”), while women use communication to establish and reinforce relationships (“rapport-talk”). With copious examples from her research, Tannen makes a convincing case that male and female styles are so different that conversation between the genders can even be seen as cross-cultural communication. The problem, she stresses, is not with the way men talk, or with the way women talk, but with the unacknowledged difference between the two. Every interpreter who reads this book will surely be able to think of examples not only from his or her own life, but from interpreting situations that unaccountably went wrong. Tannen also points out that the English vocabulary available to describe women’s and men’s actions differ; for example, women “faint”, while men “pass out”. Interpreters of either gender would do well to make themselves aware of these dynamics, especially when interpreting for clients of the opposite gender.
This column appears monthly in VIEWS. Please direct questions, comments, or suggestions for resources to highlight in future issues to Kathy MacMillan at info@kathymacmillan.com.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Best Resources in Mentoring
Interpreter’s Resource Shelf (appeared in RID VIEWS April, 2007, reprinted with permission)
Kathy MacMillan, NIC, M.L.S.
Best Resources in Mentoring:
http://www.asl.neu.edu/TIEM.online/sourcement.html
This resource site, a collaboration of Project TIEM.Online, the Northeastern University Interpreter Education Project, the RSA Region III Interpreter Training Project , and the RSA Region V Interpreter Education Project, is a treasure trove of information for interpreter mentors, educators, and mentees. With an easy to use search feature, users can quickly call up information ranging from curriculum resources to book reviews. Mentors and mentees can also access many practical exercises addressing specific issues such as the use of classifiers, cultural mediation, and writing a professional development plan. The site also includes a directory of mentors and mentor trainers, as well as examples of successful mentoring programs. Users can also contribute their own book reviews and descriptions of mentoring activities. Though there are many resources out there about mentoring, most focus on general business models; this one is aimed squarely at interpreter mentors and mentees. Be sure to check out the main Project TIEM.Online site (TIEM stands for “Teaching Interpreting Educators and Mentors”) at http://www.asl.neu.edu/TIEM.online/index.html for information about online classes and distance learning opportunities for interpreter educators and mentors.
This column appears monthly in VIEWS. Please direct questions, comments, or suggestions for resources to highlight in future issues to Kathy MacMillan at info@kathymacmillan.com.
Kathy MacMillan, NIC, M.L.S.
Best Resources in Mentoring:
http://www.asl.neu.edu/TIEM.online/sourcement.html
This resource site, a collaboration of Project TIEM.Online, the Northeastern University Interpreter Education Project, the RSA Region III Interpreter Training Project , and the RSA Region V Interpreter Education Project, is a treasure trove of information for interpreter mentors, educators, and mentees. With an easy to use search feature, users can quickly call up information ranging from curriculum resources to book reviews. Mentors and mentees can also access many practical exercises addressing specific issues such as the use of classifiers, cultural mediation, and writing a professional development plan. The site also includes a directory of mentors and mentor trainers, as well as examples of successful mentoring programs. Users can also contribute their own book reviews and descriptions of mentoring activities. Though there are many resources out there about mentoring, most focus on general business models; this one is aimed squarely at interpreter mentors and mentees. Be sure to check out the main Project TIEM.Online site (TIEM stands for “Teaching Interpreting Educators and Mentors”) at http://www.asl.neu.edu/TIEM.online/index.html for information about online classes and distance learning opportunities for interpreter educators and mentors.
This column appears monthly in VIEWS. Please direct questions, comments, or suggestions for resources to highlight in future issues to Kathy MacMillan at info@kathymacmillan.com.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Opening the Mind’s Eye
Interpreter’s Resource Shelf (appeared in RID VIEWS May, 2007, reprinted with permission)
Kathy MacMillan, NIC, M.L.S.
Opening the Mind’s Eye: How Images and Language Teach Us to See by Ian Robertson. NY: St. Martin’s Press, 2003. ISBN: 0-312-30657-1. $23.95.
Our ability to interpret effectively often depends on our ability to visualize the information we are conveying. Robertson’s fascinating look at the power of mental imagery draws from scientific and psychological research to demonstrate how our culture has elevated language above imagery, to our detriment. The imagery he discusses is not limited to visual imagery, but also includes movement, touch, smell, taste, and sound. In every case, understanding our experiences through language can help us to process them, but only at a distance. Imagery, when given full reign, can increase memory, measurably reduce illness and stress, and enhance creativity, all by keeping us in tune with the physical reality of our experience. Even the great Albert Einstein credited his great discoveries to his visualization ability. Robertson acknowledges that ASL users have been found to have much better than average spatial imagery, due to so much practice, but points out that there are many aspects to mental imagery (including vividness of mental pictures and connections between concepts), all of which can be improved with practice. Fortunately, he also provides mental exercises to improve our imagery abilities. Robertson even shows how athletes, musicians, and surgeons were found to improve their skills in their various fields simply through focused mental practice, their brains forging synaptic connections that their bodies could later call into play. (No more excuses about not having enough access to skill-building interpreting situations—we can, it seems, make our own.) Interpreters will learn valuable information here about improving memory through mental imagery, creating vivid images, and maintaining mental and physical health through imagery.
This column appears monthly in VIEWS. Please direct questions, comments, or suggestions for resources to highlight in future issues to Kathy MacMillan at info@kathymacmillan.com.
Kathy MacMillan, NIC, M.L.S.
Opening the Mind’s Eye: How Images and Language Teach Us to See by Ian Robertson. NY: St. Martin’s Press, 2003. ISBN: 0-312-30657-1. $23.95.
Our ability to interpret effectively often depends on our ability to visualize the information we are conveying. Robertson’s fascinating look at the power of mental imagery draws from scientific and psychological research to demonstrate how our culture has elevated language above imagery, to our detriment. The imagery he discusses is not limited to visual imagery, but also includes movement, touch, smell, taste, and sound. In every case, understanding our experiences through language can help us to process them, but only at a distance. Imagery, when given full reign, can increase memory, measurably reduce illness and stress, and enhance creativity, all by keeping us in tune with the physical reality of our experience. Even the great Albert Einstein credited his great discoveries to his visualization ability. Robertson acknowledges that ASL users have been found to have much better than average spatial imagery, due to so much practice, but points out that there are many aspects to mental imagery (including vividness of mental pictures and connections between concepts), all of which can be improved with practice. Fortunately, he also provides mental exercises to improve our imagery abilities. Robertson even shows how athletes, musicians, and surgeons were found to improve their skills in their various fields simply through focused mental practice, their brains forging synaptic connections that their bodies could later call into play. (No more excuses about not having enough access to skill-building interpreting situations—we can, it seems, make our own.) Interpreters will learn valuable information here about improving memory through mental imagery, creating vivid images, and maintaining mental and physical health through imagery.
This column appears monthly in VIEWS. Please direct questions, comments, or suggestions for resources to highlight in future issues to Kathy MacMillan at info@kathymacmillan.com.
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