Talk:Visual Language Interpreting

Thanks to those who began this project! Trevor Blake 19:27 (PST) 1 May 2004.

This project was definitely begun by one person, and all praise and respect to them for doing so. But since this is a wikibook, all of us are equal collaborators. Therefore I'm not sure it's going to be possible to make statements about 'how complete that target is.' Suppose two or more contributors disagree about how complete that target is? I can imagine a nice, detailed lengthy entry being viewed as not complete by a trained expert because it lacks certain information and also being viewed as not complete by a trained expert becuase it needs editing and removal of unneccessary details. I am not opposed at all to the existance of a collaborative project with more controls, more of a 'lead editor' with final say-so, but it shouldn't happen at wikibooks. Wikibook's strength is (to some) its weakness: we're all chefs in this kitchen.

Therefore, I propose two things. First, use this discussion page. Sometimes it will be clear why a change or addition or deletion should occur, and a contributor should just go for it. For things that might benefit from being explained, use this discussion page. Don't just change something, come here and discuss it and let others see why it was changed. Second, as an example of the first, I am going to propose that the 'how complete that target is' section be deleted rather than just delete it myself. I've explained why I think that should happen, now I'd like to hear what other people think. --Trevor Blake 15:27, 2 May 2004 (UTC)

I like what I'm hearing. Dan Parvaz 21:11 (EDT) 2 May 2004

I certainly don't mind removing the progress indicators. In my mind, I would have like to have seen some indication of "textual maturity". This isn't a text for experts. I don't even think of it as a text by experts, at least not in the traditional sense. We are all well-versed in some area or another.

I did do some moving around before I got here. The material on the front page relating to some visual languages as well as what appeared to be a college paper on consecutive interpreting seemed a bit out of place up front, so I moved them wholesale to the "Tools" page where they appear in the outline. For the moment, I have left them unaltered, but there are some details which need looking at:


 * The consecutive paper was clearly written to be a self-contained unit, and not part of a broader treatment of interpreting, A certain amount of "dismantling" and "re-incorporating" is probably needed to make it part of an overall story, i.e., let's talk about interpreting, and by the way, here's how consecutive work fits into that picture.


 * I'm not a huge fan of Wikipedia entries being copied into the text. I quickly created the article on Cued Speech, so that there'd be something to reference, but ideally someone who actually works as a CST should be able to fill that in. The same applies to ASL, etc. What makes sense here is to describe the various languages in the context of settings, interpreting challenges, etc. And the Wikipedia articles absolutely need to be heavily linked into the book

Anyway,that'll probably do for now... Glad to see folks are emailing and contributing! --Dan Parvaz 21:11 (EDT) 2 May 2004

Regarding the progress indicators, I'll let you remove them or not as you see fit. Regarding 'text maturity' I suggest it be defined in the negative: a disclaimer that this is (a) a work in progress (b) by people who are not necessarily professionals or accredited or even competant (c) not to take the place of any more reputable work (d) etc. When few of these things are true, the disclaimer could be removed and that will be a positive statement of text maturity.

Regarding text moves from front page - I agree with this change and was on my way to do just that.

Regarding moving data over from Wikipedia (or other public domain sources), I'm a fan. The more raw materails work with, especially at first, the better. It can and will all be cut to size and augmented as we go along. I look forward to experts and experienced people from all over the field joining in, but I don't think it's entirely inappropriate to venture our disclaimer-heavy thoughts here until they do. It's also true that even the top experts don't agree in all areas of study. Getting something out there, making mistakes and fixing them is just fine and very linked to the wikibook philosophy. Waiting to get things right and having authoritative content is also just fine, but less appropriate for a wikibook. Fortunately none of us have to choose only wikibooks or no wikibooks - I have some small talents to lend here, others lend their greater talents here and elsewhere, and all benefit. Again, if a person feels a need to get things more authoritative then they can and should take this text and run with it. That's what public domain is all about. --Trevor Blake 03:12, 3 May 2004 (UTC)

Christian Views of Women
First, I have to say this project is amazing!

Second, I propose the section 'Christian Views of Women' be shortened, I personally think it's a wonderful section and very interesting, but I also think it gets off the topic of 'Interpreting in the Religious Setting'. Jody Johnston

I wrote 'Christian Views of Women' for Wikipedia, and I stand by what I wrote. What I wrote was heavily edited and almost deleted outright, but what I originally wrote is what I stand by. But please note I wrote it for Wikipedia as part of that general encyclopedia, and I do not at all think it is appropriate for this Wikibook. Wikipedia and this wikibook are not the same thing, although they look the same and I write for both. That entry in Wikipedia is about Christian views of women, and this Wikibook is about visual language interpreting. If that entry is copied to this book it wasn't done by me nor do I think it's a good idea. But again, thanks for your kind words and I'm glad you enjoyed the entry. Anyone curious about it can follow the links in my name. --Trevor Blake 02:15, 4 May 2004 (UTC)