Brendan Stern

So, it was Interpreter Appreciation Day two days ago, which is supposedly “extremely problematic.” Some deaf people argue that the day should not exist. According to varying accounts, it is because (1) interpreters do not make ‘sacrifices’; (2) interpreters are the ones who should thank deaf people, not the other way around; (3) unprofessional, unqualified interpreters who are undeserving of appreciation exist; (4) interpreters represent oppressive, at worst, and paternalistic, at best, forces in our daily lives; and, finally, (5) the day, because of the reasons above, triggers some deaf people.

I admittedly would not have known this if I had not logged onto Twitter last night.

But. I. Could. Not. Help. Myself.

I think the contention is fascinating and merits serious attention because we should be careful what we wish for. Here are FIVE reasons why the Interpreter Appreciation Day is something that we should continue to celebrate:

(1) Psychological benefits of appreciation. For the sake of self-interest, it is helpful to be thankful because appreciation increases happiness. For instance, a study by Dr. Martin Seligman of the University of Pennsylvania found that when participants went out of their way to thank somebody, their happiness score increased for an entire month.

(Now that I think about it, Muslims often respond to inquiries with “Alhamdulillah,” signifying gratitude for the simple things. Jews tend to go around the dinner table to tell each other for what and for whom we are thankful during Sabbath. Is this what elders mean by wisdom residing in tradition?)

If we want happy deaf people, we could do worse than to keep interpreter appreciation day.

(2) Interpersonal benefits of appreciation. Showing appreciation makes others like us better, develops camaraderie, and makes it more likely that our goals will be achieved. And, no, I don’t need a link for that because this is common sense.

(I have $20 saying parents and coaches are nodding in agreement.)

In short, giving thanks improves team performance. Of course, deaf people can refrain from appreciating interpreters. Just as long as we do not complain when interpreters end up performing as if it were thankless, faceless, nameless labor because they are, you know, human beings. And guess what happens then? Deaf people will not get more of what we want during the appointment.

(3) Power per se is not problematic. Appreciation days are not reserved for the powerless. We have those for the powerful and anybody else imaginable for the discussed psychological and interpersonal benefits. To name a few: boss appreciation day, secretary appreciation day, system administrators appreciation day, tourist appreciation day, ‘We Love Our Emperor’ day, etc.

We simply show gratitude to foster healthy relationships, regardless of power dynamics, because ‘control’ is sometimes a necessary evil. Whether we are the parent or the child, the president or the citizen, the professor or the student, or the coach or the player, it is wise to show appreciation for one another.

While there are tiresome interpreters who are power-thirsty and have no business interpreting, it is quite a stretch to call interpreters as a whole ‘paternalistic’ or ‘oppressive.’ Do they not provide access to complete and accurate information to the best of their ability? Or, is the existence of a majority language and the facilitation of communication between languages, in and of itself, evidence of paternalism and oppression? If so, what is the alternative outside of teaching everybody ASL in the United States and prohibiting all other languages? For interpreters, other than refusing to do the jobs we need them to perform?

In truth, interpreters do not ‘depend’ on our oppression. Instead, they are solutions to the challenges of a multilingual country. It is head-scratching and counter-productive to bite the hands that provide access to public spaces and then accuse them of perpetuating that oppression. Yet, we persist. This foolhardy attempt is less a commentary on the logic of deaf people and the ethics of interpreters, however, and more an indictment of the sensational culture in which we live. It is a strange world where taking offense is a profitable enterprise and where we often send women and men to the public gallows for performing the very duties and responsibilities that we ask them to.  

Deaf people have the agency to skip bad interpreters during Interpreter Appreciation Day. Observing the event does not require recognizing every interpreter or pretending as if all interpreters are ‘good.’ If anybody happens to be triggered because of a bad memory, that is regrettable. But this is not reason enough to negate the event. Otherwise, we would be without Mother’s Day and Teacher Appreciation Day for similar reasons.

(4) Interpreters are under-appreciated. Contrary to public claims on social media, deaf people get far more “public attention” than interpreters. Even though there are specific instances during which unprofessional interpreters divert attention away from the deaf individual, this is the inevitable nature of interpreting.

When I use an ASL interpreter as a deaf person, for instance, I tend to feel more connected with the interpreter than the hearing individual because we share language values and norms, and to evaluate my judgment of the hearing individual, rightly or not, based on the performance of the interpreter who is the conduit of information. Do we want to hold interpreters responsible for being thrust into this inevitable position of control and power when it is the other way around?

Furthermore, we have Nyle DiMarco, Deaf Gain, Gallaudet University, Claudia Gordon, Lost River Vacations, The ASL App, NAD, Marlee Matlin, Deaf Awareness Month, Curtis Pride, Deaf Studies, Discovering Deaf Worlds, Savvy ASL, the Maryland Governor’s Office of the Deaf & Hard Hearing, etc.

And what about the interpreters? Uh. There’s the RID. Jack Jason. Uh. Lydia Callis. Interpreting Studies programs. That interpreter at the Mandela memorial service. Well, wait.

(5) Special interpreters are worthy. If we point out bad interpreters, we ought to recognize the corollary, which is that good interpreters exist, too. It is not as if interpreters are less charitable than secretaries/systems administrators/tourists/emperors and never sacrifice time, money, and energy. Interpreter Appreciation Day is a unique opportunity to recognize interpreters who go beyond what is required and expected.

As for myself, if not for several interpreters who moved their schedules around to interpret for me after a dismal experience with university-assigned interpreters, for instance, it is unlikely that I would have my Ph.D. now.

If not for some interpreters who, yes, sacrificed weekends and a night’s worth of sleep (the latter of which is the ultimate sacrifice in my book) to interpret for the birth of our children, I would have had a limited understanding of the miracle of childbirth and the awe-inspiring strength of my wife.

If not for two interpreters who volunteered to take care of time-consuming arrangements at the Comedy Cellar and took their preparation seriously last February, my friends and I would have had no idea the extent to which Moshe Kasher is hilarious and brilliant.

You know who you are. I may be two days late, but thank you.