What does it take to be a sign language interpreter?

In November when the play In the Blue Houses Dream The Mountains was performed at the School of Drama in Thrissur, Livin C Lonakutty’s nimble fingers and expressions were capturing the action on stage for over 20 hearing-impaired (HI) people in the audience. With that, Livin, a sign language interpreter (SLI), made it an inclusive experience for the audience.

For Vinayachandran BS, another SLI, it was a memorable occasion when he did a commentary in sign language at the finals of the second National Test Cricket championship for the HI held in Thiruvananthapuram last year. He was also in the news for making videos for the World Health Organisation in Indian Sign Language (ISL) during the pandemic.

Thanks to the sign language interpreters, many organisers are able to make their events inclusive. International Day of Sign Languages is observed on September 23, along with International Week of the Deaf.

Sign language interpreter Vinayachandran BS 
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“When I started my career as an interpreter around eight years ago, opportunities in Kerala were few. Things have changed a lot in the last three years,” says Thrissur-native Livin. On his tryst with theatre he says, “I trained with them for over two weeks. I had to act out everything, including the background score, for the audience.” He has also trained actor Aditi Rao Hydari for her role in Sufiyum Sujatayum.

Sign Language Interpreters have become familiar faces, thanks to news bulletins for the HI on Malayalam news channels. Half-an-hour daily bulletins on Asianet, Mathrubhumi, Manorama News, Kairali TV, and 24 News have given them visibility.

However, things did not start on a positive note in the newsrooms, says S Vyshnevi Maya. “People used to post nasty comments about our expressions and actions or called up the channel’s office to complain. It was disheartening. We wondered how people could be so ignorant about what we are doing,” says Vyshnevi, who helped out an artist in Mammootty’s CBI 5 and was in the reality show Bigg Boss [on Asianet] to interpret for actor Abhinaya who is HI.

Vinayachandran explains that many have no idea that sign language interpretation involves 40% expression in addition to signs. “When landslides hit Wayanad, one of the straplines was Hridayam potti Wayanad (Heartbroken Wayanad). We have to show the grief and pain on our faces. Otherwise, we are mere translators,” he adds. The veteran has worked in a music video featuring Sunidhi Chauhan’s voice.

The National Institute of Speech and Hearing (NISH) in Thiruvananthapuram, which offers a Diploma in Indian Sign Language Interpretation (DISLI) course, has been the training ground for most of the SLIs in the State. It was an interest in the subject that attracted Vinayachandran and Vyshnevi to the course. Vyshnevi says, “During my college days, I used to see this group of HI youngsters interacting at Thampanoor bus station in Thiruvananthapuram. I was curious about how they communicated through expressions and signs. That memory remained with me and when I saw an advertisement about DISLI course I didn’t think twice,” she says.

For Vinayachandran, who did not take up a job offer from a bank so that he could become a journalist, learning sign language was the route to write about the HI community. “I knew an HI engineering graduate working at a bookstore. Since I wanted to know more about him, I decided to study sign language. As I got more involved with the HI community I realised that instead of writing about them, I should do something for them. Now, I am training HI employees in nationalised banks and thus I am part of the banking sector. And by presenting the news I am a journalist as well, that too with three news channels,” he says.

Sign language interpreter Priya Raj F
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The reason for taking up the course is more personal for Priya Raj F, another veteran in the field. “My daughter is HI by birth. It was during my visits to NISH that I came to know about the course and eventually joined,” she says.

Renjitha B Sudha, another NISH alumni, meanwhile, had little idea about the course when she joined. “I wanted to help my cousin who is on the autism spectrum and had assumed that this course was something special meant for them. Once I realised what I had got myself into it took some time for me to learn it,” says Renjitha.

Avenues are opening up for interpreters, if not on the same scale as in other countries. A big team of SLIs was at work at Keraleeyam, a week-long event organised by the State Government in November last year. The SLIs have also been regulars at all editions of ‘Ka’, a literary festival organised by Mathrubhumi in Thiruvananthapuram.

Sign language interpreter S Vyshnevi Maya interpreting for Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at an event
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The profession often entails interpreting for the HI in police stations and courts, which, sometimes, involves sensitive and confidential information. “Some cases can be traumatic for interpreters at times,” says Vyshnevi.

Renjitha talks about her experience of working with the LGBTQIA+ community. “They needed help at the annual Pride Month event that had several HI participants. I was called as an interpreter for multiple sessions. It was a challenge in that I had to interpret sessions led by non-Malayali speakers. On another occasion, I had to interpret for HI students learning chartered accountancy. The subject was out of bounds for me but I managed to help them,” adds Renjitha.

Sign language interpreter Renjitha B Sudha
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Vinayachandran, meanwhile, recalls how he once did an interpretation for a visually challenged-cum-hearing impaired person at an event in Nepal. “That is physically and mentally tiring. Communication is done through touch, with words and sentences spelt on the hand,” he explains.

Sign language interpreter Vinayachandran BS interpreting for a visually challenged-cum-hearing impaired person at an event 
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While the government has fixed their fee as ₹1,000 per hour, news channels give ₹1,000-1,500 for each bulletin.

The SLIs rue that not many people understand the effort that goes into each session. “It is an exhausting and tiring job. We are supposed to take a break after half an hour and take turns with another SLI. But that does not happen always,” says Priya.

What upsets the SLIs is the presence of several non-certified entrants. “Sign language interpretation should be done only by those certified by the Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI). Unfortunately, even government institutions do not follow this and therefore many qualified SLIs are jobless,” Vinayachandran points out.