AnnE Leahy
Private practice American Sign Language–English interpreter/translator; genealogist; researcher, writer, and presenter on signed language interpreter history, and Latter-day Saint Deaf & disability history.
Ph.D. in Translation History from the University of Birmingham (UK)
Dissertation: Paths to Signed Language Interpreting in Great Britain and America since 1150 AD.
See also
www.interpreterhistory.com
www.facebook.com/interpreterhistory
Supervisors: Angela Kershaw, Hilary Brown, and Gabriela Saldanha
Address: 6890 South 2300 East #711326
Salt Lake City, UT 84171-1326
Ph.D. in Translation History from the University of Birmingham (UK)
Dissertation: Paths to Signed Language Interpreting in Great Britain and America since 1150 AD.
See also
www.interpreterhistory.com
www.facebook.com/interpreterhistory
Supervisors: Angela Kershaw, Hilary Brown, and Gabriela Saldanha
Address: 6890 South 2300 East #711326
Salt Lake City, UT 84171-1326
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Papers by AnnE Leahy
1) What was the path for interpreters prior to organized institutions for deaf people?
2) How did legal developments create the role of sign language interpreter?
APA Citation:
Leahy, A. M. (2015). Interpreted Communication with Deaf Parties under Anglo–American Common Law to 1880. (Unpublished master's thesis). Southern Utah University, Cedar City, UT.
RQ1: What was the path for interpreters prior to organized institutions for deaf people?
RQ2: How did legal developments create the role of sign language interpreter?
[This paper is being expanded for publication, and I welcome your inquiries about the forthcoming content.]
[This paper is being finalized for publication, and I welcome your inquiries about the forthcoming content.]
Respecting the safety of the identifiable subjects, I cannot publish the paper here. Given recent warming in Cuban–American relations, and in honor of the 5th anniversary of the passing of Martín Hiraga (1956–2010), I am posting this mention for any scholars interested in a redacted version. Topics include education, national associations, interpreting services, employment, Cuban Sign Language, housing, and politics.
Articles by AnnE Leahy
There is a common theme of these and other cases where Deaf people were called to assist in 19th century courtrooms: the difference of education or life experience between the witness and the Deaf intermediary. 200 years ago, Deaf expert witnesses and lay legal interpreters began the foundation of teamwork between trained Deaf and hearing professional interpreters today. After centuries of developments opened the legal system to Deaf people, and advancements included members of the Deaf community in delivering access, the story of interpreter history is much richer and deeper than we previously imagined.
1) What was the path for interpreters prior to organized institutions for deaf people?
2) How did legal developments create the role of sign language interpreter?
APA Citation:
Leahy, A. M. (2015). Interpreted Communication with Deaf Parties under Anglo–American Common Law to 1880. (Unpublished master's thesis). Southern Utah University, Cedar City, UT.
RQ1: What was the path for interpreters prior to organized institutions for deaf people?
RQ2: How did legal developments create the role of sign language interpreter?
[This paper is being expanded for publication, and I welcome your inquiries about the forthcoming content.]
[This paper is being finalized for publication, and I welcome your inquiries about the forthcoming content.]
Respecting the safety of the identifiable subjects, I cannot publish the paper here. Given recent warming in Cuban–American relations, and in honor of the 5th anniversary of the passing of Martín Hiraga (1956–2010), I am posting this mention for any scholars interested in a redacted version. Topics include education, national associations, interpreting services, employment, Cuban Sign Language, housing, and politics.
There is a common theme of these and other cases where Deaf people were called to assist in 19th century courtrooms: the difference of education or life experience between the witness and the Deaf intermediary. 200 years ago, Deaf expert witnesses and lay legal interpreters began the foundation of teamwork between trained Deaf and hearing professional interpreters today. After centuries of developments opened the legal system to Deaf people, and advancements included members of the Deaf community in delivering access, the story of interpreter history is much richer and deeper than we previously imagined.
Preferred Cite: Leahy, A. M. (2015, October 2). Strengthening interpreting history curricula. CIT NewsOnline, 35(4). Retrieved from http://www.cit-asl.org/new/strengthening-interpreting-history-curricula/
We will discuss how the seeming failure or fallibility reconciles with the first principle of faith, cultural treatment of disability, and a diminished expectation of scriptural-grade miracles in contemporary Mormonism. Also, we offer historical voices of people with disabilities which reveal their understanding about their own purpose in The Plan of Salvation to remain as they are.
Saints have confronted received conventions of worship by at turns adapting, then revising, and finally creating a wholly Deaf LDS space. The physical and symbolic centers of a Deaf-led and
visually-based body of Saints are the remarkable customized chapels where the first congregations met. This paper will trace those spaces conceived, built, and celebrated by the Deaf community, which fostered architectural and liturgical "diversit[ies] of operations” (D&C 46:16) that have become today’s unquestioned standard.
to most, is often perceived as a deficit or a lack of sense. As long-held Aristotelian ideology—equating the lack of hearing with an inability to learn—was internalized by philosophers, educators, and clergy, they considered deafness a moral and cognitive constraint. Despite the reports and histories of their abilities and exploits, narratives constructed about Deaf people of the late 1800s still tinted them “pathetic,” “unable,” “unfortunate,” and “deprived.”
Further, eugenic experiments on Deaf people into the new century ranged from physical modification to legal prohibition of Deaf intermarriage in an attempt to eradicate the condition
altogether (Greenwald, 2006, Lane, 2002; Van Cleve & Crouch, 1989). In the early LDS tradition, church members and leaders reconciled deafness by invoking the scriptural admonition to heal
and “cause the...deaf to hear” (cf. Matthew 11; Isaiah 35). Until they were made “whole,” however, Deaf people were perpetual recipients of charity, and consequently, if divine appeals were
successful, instruments to glorify God (cf. Matthew 15).
Despite these obstacles and perceptions, however, Deaf Latter-day Saint women charted new territories and recontexted familial and social spaces, not despite their deafness, but because of it. Women were the first Deaf converts to the Latter-day Saint movement and the first to receive its temple blessings. Notwithstanding societal hindrances to education or literacy, Deaf women—often displaced by misperceptions of both inability and ability—traveled the continent with their pioneer families, settled townships alongside their neighbors, and scaffolded spaces in the nascent LDS Deaf community as its first leaders, recordkeepers, and confidants.
In this presentation, the authors will discuss existing and currently-developing narratives of Deaf Latter-day Saint pioneer women: sisters, wives, mothers and leaders who not only impacted their immediate courses but also beat down the trails that present-day Deaf Latter-day Saints now travel."
Unlike indictments throughout historical Christianity, Mormon doctrine does not attribute disability to God?s punishment, but for PWDs and their families the canonical Plan of Salvation does beg certain accommodations?a literal broadening of the doorway toward immortality. Received myths, mingled with scant or inconsistent doctrine, have overshadowed most of LDS belief in this area. Though LDS theology demands answers to lived disability, reactions have gestured toward bland pity and causality myths instead of building a practical and pastoral response. As the Church reigns in longstanding misconceptions and embraces a more contemporary official stance, the disability project begins to take shape, embracing the lives of all Latter-day Saints.
• What was the path for interpreters prior to organized institutions for deaf people?
• How did legal developments create the role of sign language interpreter?
Before the rise of Deaf education, Deaf-led communities, and standardized signed languages, who were the first proto-interpreters? Come meet the heroes whose work in gripping 18th- and 19th-century cases ultimately formed our best practices still followed today.
Surprising case studies depicting the witness oath, recusals, and managing miscommunication, reveal that little has changed in 250 years. Participants will cheer and cringe for their colleagues, as judges at times coach or censure untrained interpreters who are doing the best they can with the tools at their disposal. We will also celebrate progress, as the record reflects other expectations of historical sign language interpreters which are gratefully no longer generally applied.
#2 — Lives and Cases: Deaf Interpreters in 19th-Century Anglo-American and Irish Courts
Many early Hearing interpreters were drawn from schools for the Deaf. But they were not working alone—come meet the inspiring Deaf interpreters from 19th-century court cases, and admire their lives, and creative interpreting strategies under pressure.
The contemporary roots of Deaf interpreters reach back 50 years in the U.S., but evidence of Deaf intermediaries in Anglo-American and Irish courts extends much further. Beginning roughly 200 years ago, records from trial transcripts and newspaper accounts have revealed formative cases—this seminar will feature two with Deaf expert testimony, and two with working interpreters.
<> The seeds of Legal Interpreting were planted over 700 years ago in a Law that will surprise you.
<> Our first textbook? Nearly 400 years ago.
<> Table Interpreting? Almost 130 years ago.
Overall Participant Rating: 3.83/4.00 95.8%"
We will discover centuries of legal foundations that developed the interpreter role in the Anglo-American judicial system. Participants can expect to parse verbatim court transcripts and newspaper accounts, and should be prepared to decode what choices were made, and apply them to modern practice.
This workshop is targeted to mid-career and seasoned community interpreters—especially those who practice in legal and law enforcement settings, as well as interpreter educators and program administrators who oversee curricula. Regardless of depth of experience or years in the field, all will gain a deepened respect for our roots.
The format will suit a variety of learning styles, with rich visuals, printed handouts, small group analysis, and participant-led responses to case studies. Preferences for both ASL and English will be supported as the presentation language adapts to suit the material and balances the needs of everyone.
Overall Participant Rating: 4.6/5.0 92%
Our research and resulting projects represent a very small way that we are able to give back to the community that has carried, nurtured, taught, and embraced us for more than twenty years. The purpose of our work is to dig, to find, to obsess, to corroborate, to verify, and to otherwise unearth the stories and personalities of Deaf Latter-day Saints that “cry out from the dust.” To our Deaf friends, neighbors, and colleagues: we hope that you will analyze, relate, and retell these stories to the community. These stories are for you."
Our research and resulting projects represent a very small way that we are able to give back to the community that has carried, nurtured, taught, and embraced us for more than twenty years. The purpose of our work is to dig, to find, to obsess, to corroborate, to verify, and to otherwise unearth the stories and personalities of Deaf Latter-day Saints that “cry out from the dust.” To our Deaf friends, neighbors, and colleagues: we hope that you will analyze, relate, and retell these stories to the community. These stories are for you.
Our research and resulting projects represent a very small way that we are able to give back to the community that has carried, nurtured, taught, and embraced us for more than twenty years. The purpose of our work is to dig, to find, to obsess, to corroborate, to verify, and to otherwise unearth the stories and personalities of Deaf Latter-day Saints that “cry out from the dust.” To our Deaf friends, neighbors, and colleagues: we hope that you will analyze, relate, and retell these stories to the community. These stories are for you.
Director, Religious Studies
Utah Valley University
Charles Randall Paul
President, Foundation for Interreligious Diplomacy
Sheila Taylor
PhD Candidate, Systematic and Philisophical Theology
Graduate Theological Union
Records from clerk transcripts and contemporary newspaper accounts have revealed two cases of Deaf expert witnesses called to assess a defendant’s language ability, and testify to their findings. Two additional trial cases have also emerged—one with a Hearing interpreter team, and one Deaf interpreter working solo with paper and pencil. The contribution of each Deaf interpreter featured in these stories directly effected the outcomes of the cases. "
Records from clerk transcripts and contemporary newspaper accounts have revealed two cases of Deaf expert witnesses called to assess a defendant’s language ability, and testify to their findings. Two additional trial cases have also emerged—one with a Hearing interpreter team, and one Deaf interpreter working solo with paper and pencil. The contribution of each Deaf interpreter featured in these stories directly effected the outcomes of the cases.
Surprising case studies depicting compulsion, miscommunication, recusals, editorializing and conflict of interest reveal that truly little has changed in nearly 250 years. Participants will cheer and cringe for their colleagues as judges at times coach or censure untrained interpreters who are doing the best they can with the tools at their disposal. We will also celebrate progress, as the record reflects other expectations of historical sign language interpreters which are gratefully no longer generally applied.
Surprising case studies depicting compulsion, miscommunication, recusals, editorializing and conflict of interest reveal that truly little has changed in nearly 250 years. Participants will cheer and cringe for their colleagues as judges at times coach or censure untrained interpreters who are doing the best they can with the tools at their disposal. We will also celebrate progress, as the record reflects other expectations of historical sign language interpreters which are gratefully no longer generally applied.
Our research and resulting projects represent a very small way that we are able to give back to the community that has carried, nurtured, taught, and embraced us for more than twenty years. The purpose of our work is to dig, to find, to obsess, to corroborate, to verify, and to otherwise unearth the stories and personalities of Deaf Latter-day Saints that “cry out from the dust.” To our Deaf friends, neighbors, and colleagues: we hope that you will analyze, relate, and retell these stories to the community. These stories are for you.
Leahy, who called herself a “lay historian,” said that she’s been a full-time ASL interpreter for 20 years and wanted to “give back to the community.” In researching the history of deaf church members, Leahy said, she was especially inspired by the “workaday” deaf Saints, who figured out ways to work, raise children, serve in the church and essentially carry on normal lives with a fraction of the support mechanisms available today.
She titled her presentation “God Made Me Deaf” after a phrase from a letter written by a young man in England in 1846, and published in the Millennial Star. “He says in his testimony, ‘God made me deaf and dumb,’ and that’s sort of an affirmation of his identity as a deaf person, which is remarkable for 1846.”