Rabbi Lawrence Kushner, in his preface to the book, Honey from the Rock, writes:
Everyone carries with them at least one and probably
Many pieces to someone else’s puzzle.
Sometimes they know it.
Sometimes they don’t.
While this project is not steeped in Jewish mysticism, it is about completing puzzles that we don’t always see fitting together.
First of all, it is a puzzle of geography. On one side, it begins in Duluth, Minnesota with Lise Lunge-Larsen telling stories from her native land of Norway. A land of fjords, snow, ice, and trolls. On the other side, it begins near the bayous of Louisiana where Pam Boswell lives and works as a transliterator and educator. (And where there isn’t much in the way of fjords, snow, ice, or trolls.) These disparate beginnings came together in Kansas of all places, at a summer institute for educational interpreters where Pam and I were both instructors. Through our working together, the idea was born to create some samples of SEE transliterations for these lectures which were captured in an actual 7th grade English class.
But there is more of a puzzle to it than just the geography. It is also the bringing of different linguistic pieces which are often seen in opposition. This lecture was originally used for a project entitled, Goats, Trolls, and Numbskulls which included sample ASL interpretations done by myself. In this project, the target is SEE. But Pam’s work demonstrates how effective SEE transliterations require the incorporation of ASL features to make the work both clear and engaging.
After all, the point, particularly for interpreters and transliterators working with Deaf students, is not how closely we can adhere to the target language or system we are “supposed” to be working in. But how effectively can we craft interpretations and transliterations which allow these students to develop and flourish. That is the puzzle we are truly trying to complete, and for all of those involved in this project, we hope this CD helps you realize pieces you may not have known you were missing. And that in the discovery, you will be further on your journey to provide the highest quality service to the people with whom you work.
