What happens when interpreters "invent" signs?

What happens when interpreters "invent" signs?

• A. They improve the Deaf community's acceptance of the student's signing.
• B. They make the student's linguistic system unique from peers, interpreters, and Deaf adults, and may offend the Deaf community.
• C. They have no impact on a student's language development.
• D. They ensure consistency with mainstream ASL.

Answer: (B)

Inventing signs breaks the expectation that sign language used in education reflects the shared language of the Deaf community. When an interpreter creates new signs for a student, that student may begin using an idiosyncratic set of signs that peers, other interpreters, and Deaf adults don’t know. This can misalign the student’s language with others, making communication less efficient and hindering access to the broader Deaf community and classroom conversations. This approach can also offend the Deaf community because it imposes a personal or unfamiliar sign system onto the student’s communicative environment, rather than respecting established, community-accepted signs. The goal is for the student to develop language that aligns with peers and Deaf role models, not to create a private or mismatched version of sign language. Best practice is to use established signs and, when a sign doesn’t exist, describe the concept or use fingerspelling temporarily while seeking guidance from Deaf contributors on an accepted sign. This supports consistent language development and cultural respect.

Inventing signs breaks the expectation that sign language used in education reflects the shared language of the Deaf community. When an interpreter creates new signs for a student, that student may begin using an idiosyncratic set of signs that peers, other interpreters, and Deaf adults don’t know. This can misalign the student’s language with others, making communication less efficient and hindering access to the broader Deaf community and classroom conversations.

This approach can also offend the Deaf community because it imposes a personal or unfamiliar sign system onto the student’s communicative environment, rather than respecting established, community-accepted signs. The goal is for the student to develop language that aligns with peers and Deaf role models, not to create a private or mismatched version of sign language.

Best practice is to use established signs and, when a sign doesn’t exist, describe the concept or use fingerspelling temporarily while seeking guidance from Deaf contributors on an accepted sign. This supports consistent language development and cultural respect.