ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a brief history of team interpreting in the signed language–spoken language interpreting field and explores the hiring and teaming practices of Deaf–hearing, hearing–hearing, and Deaf–Deaf interpreter teams. The chapter focusses on how team interpreters can best accomplish their work together given their unique roles in these different types of teams, and it also explores a team’s shared place (role-space) in interpreted interaction. Discussions about the open teaming process versus the closed teaming process and consecutive interpretation versus simultaneous interpretation in this chapter reflect important operational decisions that a team must make. The chapter delves into current issues that need to be explored, including the conflict between the community and mainstream approaches to interpreting and teaming, the degree to which participants are included as part of the team, and issues of power relations, discrimination, and multiculturalism. The need for additional training, role clarification, and employment of teams with Deaf interpreters is also explored.
