Sign language interpretation is generally considered within the domain of Public Service Interpreting however the request for sign language interpreters in the conference setting is slowly gathering momentum. Conferences on issues of interest to the Deaf cover a variety of subjects: education, social aspects of deafness, medical advances, linguistic aspects of sign language and interpretation issues as well as subjects of interest to the general hearing public.
Sign language interpreters are having to adapt to new job requirements which entails signing for a growing number of Deaf conference participants as the Deaf are becoming increasingly aware of their rights in society. The greater the number of Deaf people attending conferences the more important becomes the issue of the quality of the interpretation they are provided with.
This paper attempts to briefly outline some of the quality issues which are relevant to sign language conference interpreting, in particular interpreter performance and Deaf end-user evaluation.
