ABSTRACT
This chapter charts and compares the development of spoken-signed language interpreting services via telephone, computer and video links in the USA and elsewhere and shows how the origins and development of the services have influenced the availability, types and quality of remote interpreting services available to Deaf people. It then looks at some European and Australian research into the effectiveness and problems associated with remote interpreting via Video Relay Services (VRS) or Video Remote Interpreting (VRI) technology. The role and experiences of an interpreter working for a large, national/multinational, ‘for-profit’ VRS service provider in the USA are then compared with the interpreter’s role and working conditions being developed and recommended by European VRS providers. The chapter ends by considering how research can inform the best use of the technology and how interpreters can influence future developments.
