Sign Language interlingual interpreting in the South African courtroom: Towards developing a digital database of legal terminology of South African Sign Language (SASL)

Abstract

South African Sign Language (SASL) interlingual interpreting is a process that involves shifting between gestural and auditorial modalities, while maintaining the speaker’s intended meaning in a culturally appropriate manner. For SASL court interpreters to achieve this and for effective communication and access to justice, they need first to understand the terminology of the legal context in both languages involved in the interpreting. Although SASL is now one of the twelve official languages, there is a paucity of SASL resources, especially specialised language resources in the legal field, for example, where language services are a resource to curb communication barriers resulting from multilingualism and multiculturalism. This study investigates a range of factors related to SASL courtroom interpreting, identifying limited terminology as a key factor that hampers effective interlingual interpreting. While the study includes the development of a digital database of SASL legal terminology, its primary aim is to advance academic understanding of SASL legal terminology development in the context of court interpreting.