A history of deaf and hearing interpreters in France from the high Middle Ages to the present day
Résumé
Today, in the Deaf community in France, we have three very distinct professions: interpreters, translators, and intermediators. Interpreters between French and French Sign Language (LSF) are hearing. Interpreters between two sign languages are deaf. Translators into French sign language are deaf; and intermediators are also deaf. This distinction satisfies users and professionals alike, because each professional remains within their field of intervenion.
Research on interpreting history is recent and will continue to develop in the future, but we can already trace it back to the High Middle Ages. In this chapter, we will present, in the first part, the history of deaf and hearing interpreters from the High Middle Ages to the 18th century. During this period, catholic monks were the first to play an important role, then followed by close friends of deaf lords. Then we focus on the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century. During this period, the professions that exist today were gradually built up, first in the Deaf community only, and then increasingly in all areas of society. This led to a clear separation between the prerogatives of the deaf and hearing interpreters. This is the result of this long history.