Translator to sign language interpreter
A translator already meets 54% of what the sign language interpreter role asks for. The move turns on 6 required skills not yet in the profile.
45.9/ 100
1 How much of what a sign language interpreter is expected to do is already part of a translator’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the sign language interpreter role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A sign language interpreter role treats 8 of its required skills as things a translator already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- grammar
- linguistics
- preserve original text
- semantics
- speak different languages
- translate language concepts
What stands in the way is 6 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 16 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A sign language interpreter role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a translator background worth leading with.
- already held translate spoken language communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held translate texts communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held analyse text before translation communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held court interpreting arts and humanities
- already held preserve original text communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held semantics arts and humanities
All 16 carried skills, including the 8 the sign language interpreter role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 15 missing skills fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn communication related to hearing impairment required
- still to learn sign language required
- optional, not held fingerspelling optional
- optional, not held lipspeaking optional
- optional, not held voice interpreting optional
- optional, not held body language optional
- still to learn show intercultural awareness required
- still to learn translate spoken language simultaneously required
- optional, not held interpret languages in conferences optional
- optional, not held communicate using non-verbal language optional
- optional, not held interpret spoken language between two parties optional
- optional, not held translate spoken language consecutively optional
- still to learn hearing disability required
- still to learn screen reader required
- optional, not held support people with hearing impairment optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a sign language interpreter role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 communication related to hearing impairment study this
- 02 hearing disability study this
- 03 screen reader study this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 16 skills that carry over
- already held grammar knowledge
- already held linguistics knowledge
- already held preserve original text skill
- already held semantics knowledge
- already held speak different languages skill
- already held translate language concepts skill
- already held translate spoken language skill
- already held translate texts skill
- already held analyse text before translation skill
- already held conduct scholarly research skill
- already held consult information sources skill
- already held court interpreting knowledge
- already held scientific research methodology knowledge
- already held use word processing software skill
- already held write research proposals skill
- already held write scientific publications skill
9 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held fingerspelling optional
- optional, not held interpret languages in conferences optional
- optional, not held lipspeaking optional
- optional, not held voice interpreting optional
- optional, not held body language optional
- optional, not held communicate using non-verbal language optional
- optional, not held interpret spoken language between two parties optional
- optional, not held support people with hearing impairment optional
- optional, not held translate spoken language consecutively optional
44 held skills the sign language interpreter role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role adapt text culturally skill
- not needed by the target role apply grammar and spelling rules skill
- not needed by the target role coach employees skill
- not needed by the target role comprehend the material to be translated skill
- not needed by the target role create subtitles skill
- not needed by the target role decode handwritten texts skill
- not needed by the target role develop a translation strategy skill
- not needed by the target role develop technical glossaries skill
- not needed by the target role develop terminology databases skill
- not needed by the target role follow an ethical code of conduct for translation activities skill
- not needed by the target role follow translation quality standards skill
- not needed by the target role follow work schedule skill
- not needed by the target role identify new words skill
- not needed by the target role improve translated texts skill
- not needed by the target role information confidentiality knowledge
- not needed by the target role keep up with language evolution skill
- not needed by the target role literature knowledge
- not needed by the target role maintain updated professional knowledge skill
- not needed by the target role make abstracts skill
- not needed by the target role make surtitles skill
- not needed by the target role master language rules skill
- not needed by the target role observe confidentiality skill
- not needed by the target role office software knowledge
- not needed by the target role perform project management skill
- not needed by the target role perform sworn translations skill
- not needed by the target role postediting knowledge
- not needed by the target role proofread text skill
- not needed by the target role provide written content skill
- not needed by the target role review translation works skill
- not needed by the target role revise translation works skill
- not needed by the target role spelling knowledge
- not needed by the target role technical terminology knowledge
- not needed by the target role transcreation knowledge
- not needed by the target role translate different types of texts skill
- not needed by the target role translate tags skill
- not needed by the target role type texts from audio sources skill
- not needed by the target role types of literature genres knowledge
- not needed by the target role unseen translation knowledge
- not needed by the target role update language skills skill
- not needed by the target role use computer-aided translation skill
4 further entries not listed here
8 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn communication related to hearing impairment required
- still to learn hearing disability required
- still to learn screen reader required
- still to learn sign language required
- optional, not held fingerspelling optional
- optional, not held lipspeaking optional
- optional, not held voice interpreting optional
- optional, not held body language optional
Other moves recorded from translator
- localiser 78% covered · adjacent
- translation agency manager 68% covered · moderate
- lawyer linguist 56% covered · moderate
- lexicographer 52% covered · moderate
- interpreter 49% covered · substantial
- proofreader 46% covered · moderate
- foreign language correspondence clerk 43% covered · moderate
- scopist 39% covered · substantial
Common questions about this move
Can a translator become a sign language interpreter?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A translator already covers 54% of what a sign language interpreter is expected to do: 16 skills carry over, 8 of which the sign language interpreter role treats as required.
What skills does a translator need to become a sign language interpreter?
6 required skills are missing, plus 9 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by arts and humanities. The single most important is communication related to hearing impairment.
How hard is the move from translator to sign language interpreter?
Its learning distance is 45.9 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.