InterpreterNaomi Barry first saw British Sign Language (BSL) being used at the age of nineand knew right then that it was something she wanted to learn. Here she talksabout the challenges of working as an interpreter and the injustices faced bythe deaf community.
Although I knew from a young age that I wanted to be an interpreter, I didn’t actually meet a deaf person until I was studying for my Deaf Studies degree in Bristol many years later. After graduating, I worked as a community interpreter for an agency before moving to Swindon to work as an in-house interpreter at a primary school, interpreting for the deaf children in the sign bilingual inclusion unit be After several years in this role, I decided to retrain as a teacher. My classrooms became bilingual environments and I was proud of the inclusivity in the classes I taught.
In December 2019 I moved back to Northamptonshire, where I’m originally from, with the intention of returning to interpreting and working as a freelance interpreter. Two days after I moved, I was offered an assignment working at Deafconnect.
Freelance interpreting can be lonely
When you are out in the community as a freelance BSL interpreter, it can be lonely. You’re often working on your own and so opportunities to work regularly in the same place are wonderful! The staff at Deafconnect are fantastic –they’re the closest I have to colleagues, I suppose, and I am always made to feel so welcome when I am here. Access to regular cups of tea throughout the working day is also a simple pleasure that shouldn’t be underestimated!
I passionately believe that local agencies should have local contracts to serve their community. The bigger agencies don’t have those personal connections –they don’t know who they are booking an interpreter for or what their preferred communication style is. That’s why Deafconnect is so important to me. They know the people they are helping; they know the communities in which they work. They really do fight the unseen fight for deaf and hard of hearing people. They really care and their passion for their clients and what they do is tangible. This is why I will always, wherever possible, choose to work for local agencies like Deafconnect because I feel confident that they will always choose the most appropriate communication professional for their clients and ensure that we, as interpreters, have all the information we need to provide the right support.
I am fortunate to work with some incredible clients. My job is a privilege, and I don’t take the insight I get into the lives of those I work with lightly. It makes me so cross when society underestimates what a deaf or hard of hearing person is capable of, just because they can’t hear.
I have seen the barriers that the deaf community faces on a daily basis because of the fact that society assumes that everyone can hear. It is so frustrating that, in 2024, it is still so expensive to learn BSL. The isolation that deaf and hard of hearing people face could be lessened if only sign language classes were more accessible and more widely encouraged. The fact that hearing parents of newly diagnosed deaf children are still discouraged from learning to sign or signing with their child just further embeds these barriers.
BSL has been a recognized language of the UK since 2003. In 2022, the BSL Act was passed and, it is hoped that as this is embedded, it will offer more rights and protection for those who use BSL as their first or preferred language.
We’ve all been quite excited by the prospect of BSL becoming part of the secondary school curriculum in 2025. However, itis imperative that it is taught by a native BSL user, who can not only teach the language but the rich culture and heritage of the deaf community. When I did my BSL Level 1 (a long time ago now), I was taught by a hearing person and I know, from my experience with my university tutors who were all deaf, that I missed out on so much by learning from someone who was not a native user of the language. There aren’t a huge number of BSL teachers though, and my worry is that schools won’t be able to recruit people with the necessary skill set to teach GCSE BSL to the required standard.
The deaf community continues to face so many barriers within society. That is why when you meet a team like the one at Deafconnect, who are passionate, committed and selfless in their fight for what’s right, their value really can’t be underestimated.