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In this episode of Found in Interpretation, we welcome Sharon Neumann Solow — ASL interpreter, trainer, author, and pioneering figure in sign language interpreting with over 60 years of experience.Sharon began interpreting at 15, pulled out of high school to work at a university doctoral program — with no formal training and no roadmap. What followed was a career spent building the profession from the ground up: becoming one of the first professional ASL interpreters, then one of the first trainers, and eventually a multi-award-winning educator with a legal interpreting specialist certificate and an Emmy-nominated PBS appearance to her name.In this episode, we cover:How Sharon got started at 15 as a CODA (child of deaf adults) with no training and no precedentThe history of ASL and its roots in French Sign Language (LSF), via Laurent Clerc and the founding of Gallaudet UniversityWhy ASL and British Sign Language are mutually unintelligible despite sharing a spoken languageIconic vs. abstract signs — and what sign languages around the world have in commonThe fake interpreter at Nelson Mandela's funeral — and what it did for the certification debateHow signed and spoken language interpretation compare: simultaneous vs. consecutive, team intervals, physical fatigueThe silo between signed and spoken language interpreting agencies — and why it's a missed opportunitySharon's new book, Powerful Interpreting: Build Your Skills in Five Steps (2025) — 40 years in the making, and relevant to all interpreters, not just ASLCareer opportunities for multilingual interpreters (trilingual ASL/English/Mexican Sign Language, International Sign, and more)How remote work and COVID changed everything — and why closed captioning is not a replacement for interpretersThe book: Powerful Interpreting: Build Your Skills in 5 Steps by Sharon Neumann Solow, available here: https://www.aslinterpreting.com/ic_store/powerful-interpreting-build-your-skills-in-5-steps/
