Customer Reviews

Reading Between the Signs

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This is by far one of the absolute best books (just in general, not even specifically related to Sign Language) I've ever read!--and I read *a lot* of books. I was not able to put this book down; it was absolutely fascinating.

If you are a Hearing person at all familiar with Deaf culture, you will see yourself and your Deaf friends in this book and lightbulbs will go off as you recognize and identify the reasons for specific interactions you've had in Deaf community. As someone who has been enthralled with ASL for more than 20 years and involved in Deaf community off and on (more off than on to my dismay) for more than 10 years, I found myself, after reading this book, wishing I could reconnect with every Deaf person I've known and *apologize* to them for all the cultural gaffs and blunders I've made, and for all the misunderstandings and misassumptions on my part. I SO MUCH wish I had had this book 10-20 years ago to help me bridge the gap and to understand the different perspectives from which Hearing and Deaf approach communication.

Not only that but this book has opened my perspective and helped me to better understand my coworkers in the High Tech industry who are from Asian, Arab, and European countries, as well as to better understand the cultural differences between myself and the homeless and street-culture-savy teenagers with whom I work on a voluneer basis.

Thank you so much to the author for this amazing, fascinating, and accurate work!

In order to understand deaf culture, you need to understand what is standard American culture and then see how it contrasts with deaf culture. Anna Mindess does an excellent job of comparing and contrasting these cultures, with references to cultures from all over the world. She includes insights from respected Deaf members. This is an easy read, not a difficult textbook. I read this with many lightbulbs going "aha". She delves into values, presentation styles, and politeness in both worlds. She provides scenarios with cross cultural perspectives in the doctors' office and the job interview. I have a new understanding of myself as a hearing American and a new appreciation for the cross cultural obstacles that deaf people must face.

I was a little skeptical as to whether I should even buy this book, as it is tauted specifically for interpreters and I am still learning ASL, but this book transcends ASL and Deaf culture to provide a great sociological field of study for everyone who works, plays, indeed LIVES in our society. Talk about providing insight as to the "how and why" we all make social faux pas, and the ways that we can be more open to resolving the mistakes we often make. This book is a must read for anyone who interacts with people of different cultures/backgrounds on a regular basis.

i guess i expected this book to have pictures of signing for some reason...i don't know, but once i started to read it i saw how informative it is. i like the book a lot and i believe that Anna Mindess knows what she's writing about. if you want to understand the deaf culture more and are determined to become an interpreter, i think this book is essential.

This book entitled "Reading Between the Signs: Intercultural Communication for Sign Language Interpreters (2nd edition)" is the most indepth study of cultural mediation that I have ever seen. Anna Mindness does a wonderjul job of helping an interpreter to see where communication barriers exist, and then explain how to bridge those gaps. Why are cultures different? What is cultural mediation? How do you convey a message between conflicting cultures? What tools can effective interpreters use to empower the clients we serve toward better communication when obstacles exist? After reading this book, I found myself making adjustments in interpreting, and was able to see positive results in terms of faithfully communicating source language messages to the recipients. If one reads this book, and applies the principles learned toward their work, it will assist in making them a better interpreter, and ultimately a better communicator between cultures. I highly recommend this book to others and express my thanks to the author for putting the elements of intercultural communication together in one great volume.

Listen up ITP trainers! "Reading Between the Signs" is a true gem and should be required reading for all students in Interpreter Training Programs nationwide.

Mindess and her publisher's copy editors possess the requisite skills to render a typographically error-free book with pleasing margins and fonts, unlike Alcorn and Humphrey's "So You Want to Be an Interpreter," a required text of many ITPs.

Unlike Alcorn and Humphrey, who dutifully introduce and briefly discuss cross-cultural differences and how they influence sign language interpreting, Mindess thoughtfully and thoroughly takes the reader on an extended journey with deep, eye-opening analysis and a plethora of real-world examples that interpreters encounter every day. It's easy to understand the content with so many supporting examples of it throughout the text.

Like an engaging movie, play, or book that requires the moviegoer, theatergoer, or reader to use his/her critical thinking skills and comparisons to one's own experiences to what s/he experiences in that particular media, Mindess' book goes by quickly, because the content is so well-developed and on-point.

I found this book quite by accident. It was on a reading list of an online course I took to prepare for the NIC Knowledge Exam. I found it to be extraordinarily helpful in filling in the gaps I had regarding cross-cultural communication between the hearing and Deaf communities. It answered a lot of questions I had and I felt much better having read it before taking the NIC Knowledge Exam (which I successfully passed).

A must-have on your professional bookshelf!

A great book that helped me pass the NIC-Generalist Written Test. Definitely helpful to have in your library!

I really enjoyed Anna Mindess's book Reading between the signs. I thought it was very informative and had read it once before when I first started taking ASL and didn't really understand it all that much but as of now I've been taking ASL for almost two years and have a better understanding and appreciatition for the Deaf and it's culture and the difference between the Deaf and the hearing world. What a great book for people who are just starting to take ASL and want to be come active in the Deaf community and one day maybe persue a career with it

Excellent--- a good base book for us to move forward with as a profession.

Adele Harth

RID & NAD interpreter

I received the book promptly and it is in wonderful condition. No complaints, would do business again.