1. Voice Interpreting:
Trippingly on the Tongue
Daniel Greene, MA Candidate, NIC Master
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2. Workshop Description
This is a sign–to–voice interpreting workshop with a twist. In
addition to learning logistical and processing strategies for voice
interpreting, participants will learn the vocal techniques that
singers and actors use so that they can enliven their sign-to-
voice interpreting, convey affect, and improve audibility.
Participants will learn how to enunciate, maintain vocal
health, and inflect for affect, and meaning. Participants who
take this workshop will leave as better interpreters and speakers.
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3. Workshop Objectives
Know how to relax your body and vocal apparatus
for vocal health.
Demonstrate improved control of the volume and
pitch of your voice.
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4. Workshop Objectives
Vocalize the same phrase five different ways for
meaning and affect.
Outline strategies that can be used before and during
an ASL–to–English interpreting assignment.
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5. Introductions: me
SCPA
AA Interpreting
BA English
Acting & Singing
MA Interpreting
Studies / Teaching
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6. Introductions: you
What is your name? Your job / work?
What do you expect to get out of this workshop?
What are your strengths & weaknesses as an
ASL-to-English interpreter?
How do you plan to use what you learn here to
improve your work?
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7. Breathing & Relaxation
Guided meditation, breathing, and movement exercise
to relax vocal apparatus. Sit or stand as you wish.
Safe space, distance if desired.
Close eyes if comfortable, listen to music, listen to
words and affirmations.
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8. You are capable of so much more than you give
yourself credit for. There has never been and never will
be a voice quite like yours. Your voice is a gift, yours to
give freely if you choose. Today is a gift of self care
and practice in a safe space so you can give your clients
the very best you have. Think of what you don’t like
about your voice, put those thoughts into your cupped
hands, and blow them away.
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9. Spoken English is your *Forte*
Brenda Nicodemos: Performance does not match
preference in novice ASL-English interpreters.
Novice interpreters prefer doing English-to-ASL but
perform better at ASL-to-English.
Daniel Giles: Standard spoken language conference
interpreting: from second language into first language.
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10. “ASL Interpreter”
What is a meat grinder? Tear jerker? Taffy puller?
What is an ASL interpreter?
When we interpret from English to ASL, are we
not “English interpreters”?
Heard of the “Reverse Skills Certificate” for
“reverse” interpreting? Why “reverse”?
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11. Worst ASL interpretations
“Shit”
“Pager”
“Curious”
“Happened”
“I love you.”
Any others?
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12. Reasons you voice better than sign
You’re a native/primarily English speaker.
Nicodemos found that even CODAs performed
better at ASL-to-English than English-to-ASL.
Think how much more hearing people speak than
sign.
You can hear yourself and know when it sounds
wrong; it’s harder to monitor your visual production.
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13. What are you afraid of?
I’ll miss/forget fingerspelled names/words/dates.
I’ll miss content and won’t make sense.
I won’t be able to find the syntax or words I want.
I won’t like the way I sound when I’m talking.
The hearing audience is bigger and less forgiving than
a deaf audience. There’s more of a risk of failure.
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14. Vocal warm–up
Standing exercises to further relax and gently activate
your vocal instrument.
Yawn, sigh, high–low, ah, um, ha ha ha ha, breath
1, 2, 3 / ooh 1, 2, 3, smack lips, flutter lips, roll R,
both R and lips, ngah ngah, blah blah, click tongue,
buh buh, duh duh, guh guh, pa pa, ta ta, kah kah, b
d g, p t k, moan, siren, low roar to high squeal.
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15. Random Affect Game
Pull a phrase out of one basket
Pull an affect out of another basket
Speak your phrase with your affect
Others guess at the intended affect
This is a funny exercise. Have fun!
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16. 1 phrase 5 ways “musical chairs”
Keep your phrase from the last game.
Put chairs in circle facing out.
Pile affect cards on each chair.
Walk around the chairs to the music.
When music stops, pick up the top card on the chair
and say your phrase in that affect.
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17. Tongue Twisters
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18. Tongue Twisters
“You need unique New York” 5x fast
“Rubber baby buggy bumpers” 5x fast
“Eleven benevolent elephants” 5x fast
“Red letter, yellow letter” 5x fast
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19. Tongue Twisters
“To sit in solemn silence in a dull, dark dock
In a pestilential prison, with a life–long lock
Awaiting the sensation of a short, sharp shock
From a cheap and chippy chopper on a big black
block!” (Gilbert, 1885).
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20. Tongue Twisters
“What a to–do to die today at a–minute–or–two to two.
A thing distinctly hard to say, but harder still to do. For
they’ll beat a tattoo at twenty–to–two — a rat–a–tat–
tat–a–tat–tat–a–tattoo — and the dragon will come
when he hears the drum at a minute–or–two to two today,
at a minute–or–two to two.”
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21. Tongue Twisters
“Amidst the mists and fiercest frosts,
With barest wrists and stoutest boasts,
He thrusts his fists against the post,
And still insists he sees the ghosts” (unknown).
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22. Tongue Twisters
“Though I bide my time and try to tidy my sty, I
cry ‘I won’t die with a sigh!’ to the giant guy in the
sky who cries ‘fie!’ when we vie for the pie that lies
nigh in the high rye.” —moi
“My mic might be Mike’s, not mine, if I mind mild
mice who mime a smile at my demise.” —yours
truly
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23. Fancy Words for Fun Stuff
Consonant clusters (Amidst the mists)
Unvoiced / voiced (s/z, p/b, t/d, k/g, f/v)
Alliteration, assonance, internal rhyme
Word boundaries: initial & final consonants
Diction: enunciation vs. pronunciation
Breath control, phrasing, rhythm
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24. Voice Interpreting to
“Blind” Listeners
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25. “Showing” remote or blind people
“Caller is crying” vs. “Oh, no! She can’t be dead!
(sobbing)”
“Caller is laughing” vs. “Ah-ha-ha-ha! You crack
me up! (chuckling)”
prolonged laughter/crying
Conveying emotional affect vs. “acting”
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26. Emotional “Hooks”
Knowing the speaker’s goals and the intended effect
on the audience, look for the parts of the message that
should be emphasized to hook into the audience’s
emotional response. Use your voice to reach the
audience in the way that the deaf consumer is aiming
to reach them.
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27. What do looks sound like?
How do interpret Interpret these facial
facial expressions to expressions with vocal
blind or remote? expressions that are
I will demonstrate not words.
facial expressions and *Vague Language
body language. (VL)
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28. Cry it, laugh it, whisper it, shout it
Pick a phrase
Say it “crying”
Say it “laughing”
Say it soft
Say it loud
Try degrees/combos
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29. Matching Affect
Pitch your voice high or low?
Place your voice forward or back?
Place your voice up or down?
Project your voice loud or soft?
Pace your speech fast or slow?
Precise enunciation or mumbling?
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30. Remember the Five P’s
Pace
Pitch
Placement
Precision
Projection
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31. Using a
Microphone
How to make yourself heard and
pleasant through sound equipment.
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32. Microphone Do’s and Don’ts
Your plosives Hold the microphone
shouldn’t pop. horizontal, not like an
Your fricatives & ice cream cone.
breath shouldn’t hiss. Basically, be the right
Your sonorants distance from the mic
shouldn’t buzz. and have correct gain.
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33. References
Alburger, J. The
Art of Voice Acting.
Focal Press.
Hines, J. Great
Singers on Great
Singing. NY:
Doubleday
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34. Contact Me
www.danielgreene.com
Email, Facebook, YouTube, and more
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