ABSTRACT
Purpose
To compare the influences of the results of auditory processing tests from sign language interpreters over the translation of visual/gestural speech.
Methods
Fourteen interpreters of Brazilian sign language participated; they underwent 11 auditory processing tests and had their visual/gestural speech recorded for evaluation. The subjects were divided into two groups: G1, which consisted of seven interpreters with satisfactory levels of translation proficiency; and G2, which consisted of seven interpreters with an unsatisfactory level of translation proficiency. The candidates were selected from a philanthropic organization representative of the deaf community and sign language interpreters in Brazil via voluntary participation. For the statistical analyses, Mann-Whitney U test and the Two-Proportion Equality test were used.
Results
The groups were compared based on the performances of their auditory processing evaluation. Differences were noticed on the Duration Pattern test and on the Non-Verbal Dichotic test, whereby G2 showed poorer performances for both tests. Furthermore, G2 reported a larger incidence of auditory processing complaints from patients, and from those with a predisposing history of disturbed auditory processing, compared to G1.
Conclusion
G2 had poorer performance for the Non-Verbal Dichotic Pattern test and the Duration Pattern test. The results reveal that temporal and non-verbal processing of the acoustic signal, linked to the paralinguistic aspects of the speech to be interpreted, was conditional for effective comprehension of paralinguistic aspects and for the performance of the translation.
Hearing tests; Auditory pathways; Translating; Multilingualism; Psicholinguistic