Category Archives: Interpreting

Black, Deaf, Jamaican-born, and Amazing

Posted on Sunday, 12th February, 2017 by Ken Kwame

It was 2014 when I first met Claudia Gordon, Esq. She had come to Jamaica to do a talk at the University of the West Indies. I was a student of interpreting, come to witness the event, and act as … Continue reading →

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Mr Multilingual goes camping

Posted on Sunday, 11th September, 2016 by Ken Kwame

For the past 3 years, I’ve been part of a summer camp geared towards bring Deaf and hearing youth together. I enjoy Sign and Speak for Youth every year, and always look forward to it. There is always something new to experience. … Continue reading →

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Fingerspelling and me

Posted on Sunday, 14th August, 2016 by Ken Kwame

I have a love-hate relationship with the JSL manual alphabet. Sometimes, there’s more hate than love, to be honest. Recently, I found out something that has radically changed my perception of fingerspelling. My friend told me that hearing people tend … Continue reading →

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Thoughts on audism

Posted on Sunday, 3rd July, 2016 by Ken Kwame

Audism. It’s a relatively new word, only coined in 1975. But it’s been the reality of the Deaf for a long time. What is is? “The notion that one is superior based on one’s ability to hear or behave in … Continue reading →

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Cultural Appropriation on National Television, Audism on Facebook

Posted on Sunday, 29th May, 2016 by Ken Kwame

In my humble opinion, the “blessing” of “souls” should not be done at the expense of offending an entire culture. Continue reading →

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Why translation/interpreting is not easy…

Posted on Sunday, 8th May, 2016 by Ken Kwame

Take a look at this: The above picture was posted by Japanese tweeter Kazuto Sazuki, along with the comments: As English speakers, we might laugh at this, but chances are we’d make the same kinds of mistakes in another language, and … Continue reading →

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Entrepreneural Spirits: Be creative with your skills

Posted on Sunday, 1st May, 2016 by Ken Kwame

I’m a freelancer. As little as 4 years ago, I probably would not have thought that I would ever say that. In a country like Jamaica where so many people are unemployed after spending thousands (even hundreds of thousands) of dollars, … Continue reading →

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Signing and clothes

Posted on Sunday, 24th April, 2016 by Ken Kwame

As a sign language interpreter, I am somewhat limited in my clothing options. Clothes that are too “busy” would make my signing hard to see, because the clothes are distracting. For interpreters who wear nail polish, or other such things, their … Continue reading →

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Deaf Access to Jamaican TV

Posted on Sunday, 6th March, 2016 by Ken Kwame

This past Thursday, the 3rd of March, 2016, Andrew Holness was sworn in as the Prime Minister of Jamaica. And, fortunately for the Jamaican Deaf community, there was a JSL interpreter made available through picture in picture, so they could … Continue reading →

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My first time signing a song

Posted on Sunday, 24th January, 2016 by Ken Kwame

One of the fun things about having a blog is that you can track how your opinions evolve. As recently as last year, I would have said I disliked, and was even against hearing people signing songs. All that changed when … Continue reading →

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