Sign language interpreter spreads cultural awareness

Michelle A. Maphey wants to nurture understanding for the north country deaf community.

The sign language interpreter owns her own business in addition to the American Sign Language classes she teaches at Jefferson Community College.

Most recently, she was hired to interpret for “An Evening with Martin and Langston” featuring Danny Glover and Felix Justice on Feb. 7 at JCC.

“When interpreters are not asked to be there, they leave out a chunk of the population,” Mrs. Maphey said. “The language is more visual. Since it is getting up and going, some people will see it as a necessity for equal access for the deaf community, a linguistic minority.”

Mrs. Maphey has taught night classes at JCC for the past four years. Previously, she taught for the Jefferson-Lewis Board of Educational Cooperative Services and at schools in Buffalo and Hawaii.

“In your classes, you cannot teach language without teaching the culture. You cannot separate a language from everything that goes along with it,” she said.

She said the deaf community often is misunderstood. The hard of hearing, she said, take pride in who they are and choose to celebrate their differences rather than be ashamed of them.

“It’s a linguistic minority and has its own culture, and the real preference is to be labeled ‘deaf’ or ‘hard of hearing’ rather than ‘hearing impaired,’” Mrs. Maphey said. “‘Hearing impaired’ implies there is something wrong and needs to be fixed.”

She said she knows of three other ASL interpreter firms in the north country and has networked with them since she opened Aldebaran Interpreting Services a year ago.

In addition to education events, Mrs. Maphey covers interpretation for the law and medical fields, among others. She also offers subcontracting services as a private interpreter for students who are hard of hearing.

“It was something I said I was going to do since I was 7 years old,” Mrs. Maphey said. “I found one of those alphabet cards, you know, one of those finger-spelling cards one time. It was something I always came back to.”

Mrs. Maphey had an opportunity to meet Danny Glover and Felix Justice after the Feb. 7 show at JCC. She said that both were gentlemen and that Mr. Glover kissed her hand. However, she feels the important aspect of her participation was not meeting the actors — it was equalizing communication.

“Educational interpretation for deaf children — really, they’re everywhere, and really should be under the Americans with Disabilities Act for any access event,” she said.

Mrs. Maphey can be reached at www.aldebara ninterpretingservices.com.